In a major breakthrough, police have arrested two primary education officers from the Nagpur Zilla Parishad for their alleged involvement in a ₹100 crore scam on the Maharashtra government’s Shalarth portal.

The accused, Rohini Kumbhar (49) and Siddheshwar Kaluse (50), are suspected of creating 398 bogus teacher identities and fraudulently approving salaries via the portal, which manages salary and HR data for government employees. So far, 650 fake IDs have been unearthed as part of the ongoing investigation.

Their arrests on Tuesday bring the total number of individuals held in connection with the scam to 16, including senior education officials, school principals, and heads of institutions.

The probe began three months ago after a complaint was lodged at the cyber police station in Nagpur. With more details emerging, the Maharashtra government established a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has since widened its investigation to include similar cases reported across other districts.

Authorities said the SIT has been empowered to recruit additional officers and collect documentation from all relevant cases to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.

The scam highlights critical lapses in the verification and oversight mechanisms of government digital systems, prompting calls for urgent reforms.

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