Nagpur: The ‘whistleblower’ in the recruitment and financial scam that rocked the Maharashtra education department recently, was tossed behind bars in a separate case, though related to fake Shalarth IDs — a unique web-based teacher identification number. Key accused, Ulhas Narad, deputy director of education, authorized the process of registering a complaint with Nagpur cyber cell (copy of FIR with TOI) on March 12, following an eight-month internal inquiry on how fake Shalarth IDs were created online, to recruit teachers and draw salaries from govt coffers. Exactly a month later, Narad was arrested in a separate case related to a fraudulent creation of Shalarth ID for a Bhandara teacher.
A source in the state education department said, “Narad had in fact cancelled the Shalarth ID of this Bhandara teacher. Till then, around Rs 5.5 lakh had been paid as salary to him. Then one day we came to know that Narad has been arrested in that same case.” When TOI asked the source if Narad was the one who created or approved the Shalarth ID of the Bhandara teacher, he replied “I am not aware of that.”
While police investigations will reveal the truth, there is no doubt that the last month has seen enough twists and turns in the education scam.
It all started on March 12, when an education department employee (name withheld) walked into Nagpur cyber police station to file a complaint. The employee told cops that Narad had authorized him to file the complaint, on behalf of the education department, regarding fraudulent creation of online Shalarth IDs. The complainant stated that the deputy director (education) office began receiving complaints of forged Shalarth IDs in June 2024.
Following this, a committee was formed under Narad to conduct an internal probe, and the committee ‘upgraded’ with senior officials. The inquiry continued for a few months and in January this year, the committee’s head, Nagpur divisional board chairman, noted that prima facie it appears that Shalarth IDs have been fraudulently created.
After the committee’s final letter in February, Narad contacted the state education commissioner’s office in Pune. A source in that office told TOI “Narad sought permission to register a complaint in this case of fraudulent creation of Shalarth IDs. The education commissioner’s office agreed there should not be any delay in filing a complaint.”
After getting the green light, Narad deputed his junior to register the complaint with the cyber cell. While investigation into the case at cyber cell continued, on April 12, Sadar police arrested Narad in a separate case related to Bhandara teacher recruitment scam.
Sources say that in this same period, the Pune office forwarded details of the scam to Mantralaya. And this led to yet another twist in the tale.
On April 9, a letter from Mantralaya was sent to the Pune office, recommending registering cases against “deputy director of education” (Narad) among many other officials in Nagpur. It was the April 9 letter which first mentioned that 580 forged Shalarth IDs seem to have been created. While this again puts Narad in the dock, the Pune office is unlikely to issue fresh instructions as a FIR has already been registered with the cyber cell.
A middle-rung education official told TOI that “whether Narad is an innocent whistleblower or a guilty one will be revealed after police investigation”.
A source in the state education department said, “Narad had in fact cancelled the Shalarth ID of this Bhandara teacher. Till then, around Rs 5.5 lakh had been paid as salary to him. Then one day we came to know that Narad has been arrested in that same case.” When TOI asked the source if Narad was the one who created or approved the Shalarth ID of the Bhandara teacher, he replied “I am not aware of that.”
While police investigations will reveal the truth, there is no doubt that the last month has seen enough twists and turns in the education scam.
It all started on March 12, when an education department employee (name withheld) walked into Nagpur cyber police station to file a complaint. The employee told cops that Narad had authorized him to file the complaint, on behalf of the education department, regarding fraudulent creation of online Shalarth IDs. The complainant stated that the deputy director (education) office began receiving complaints of forged Shalarth IDs in June 2024.
Following this, a committee was formed under Narad to conduct an internal probe, and the committee ‘upgraded’ with senior officials. The inquiry continued for a few months and in January this year, the committee’s head, Nagpur divisional board chairman, noted that prima facie it appears that Shalarth IDs have been fraudulently created.
After the committee’s final letter in February, Narad contacted the state education commissioner’s office in Pune. A source in that office told TOI “Narad sought permission to register a complaint in this case of fraudulent creation of Shalarth IDs. The education commissioner’s office agreed there should not be any delay in filing a complaint.”
After getting the green light, Narad deputed his junior to register the complaint with the cyber cell. While investigation into the case at cyber cell continued, on April 12, Sadar police arrested Narad in a separate case related to Bhandara teacher recruitment scam.
Sources say that in this same period, the Pune office forwarded details of the scam to Mantralaya. And this led to yet another twist in the tale.
On April 9, a letter from Mantralaya was sent to the Pune office, recommending registering cases against “deputy director of education” (Narad) among many other officials in Nagpur. It was the April 9 letter which first mentioned that 580 forged Shalarth IDs seem to have been created. While this again puts Narad in the dock, the Pune office is unlikely to issue fresh instructions as a FIR has already been registered with the cyber cell.
A middle-rung education official told TOI that “whether Narad is an innocent whistleblower or a guilty one will be revealed after police investigation”.
