Nagpur, India: The education scam rocking Nagpur has widened, with the arrest of three more government officials for their alleged involvement in creating a fake Shalarth ID for Parag Pudke, who was illegally appointed as a headmaster without any teaching experience.

The newly arrested individuals include: Nilesh Shankarrao Meshram, Class II Superintendent, Education Officer’s Office; Sanjay Shankarrao Dudhalkar (53), employee at the Deputy Director of Education’s Office; Suraj Punjaram Naik (40), Senior Clerk at the same office

Police say the trio assisted Deputy Director Ulhas Narad in preparing fake documents and misusing government funds. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to five.

Scam Dates Back to 2019

Investigators believe the scam has been in operation since 2019, involving a large network of officials across multiple education institutions. Authorities suspect that 580 unqualified individuals were added as teachers into the government’s Shalarth system using forged documents. These fake teachers have allegedly been drawing salaries ranging from ₹40,000 to ₹48,000 per month, costing the government crores over the years.

Despite a review committee declaring the documents fake, IDs were still issued under official school records — allegedly with the approval of senior officers.

Whistleblower Exposes Fake Appointment

The scam came to light after Munna Waghmare filed a complaint exposing that Parag Pudke, who had never worked as a teacher, was drawing a government salary as a principal. Waghmare’s complaint named Ulhas Narad, the Bhandara Education Officer, pay determination officers, and others who reportedly accepted bribes to approve Pudke’s fraudulent appointment and issue his Shalarth ID.

Both Pudke and Narad were among the first arrested in the case.