Jalgaon: Following the arrest of Sanjay Garud—president of an educational institution in Shendurni—in connection with the 'Shalarth ID' scam, more than ten administrators of educational institutions in the district have gone into hiding. Meanwhile, four officials from the Education Department are in serious trouble and could face arrest at any moment.
The arrest of Sanjay Garud has sent shockwaves through the district's educational institution administrators—following the earlier arrest of former Education Officer Shashikant Hingonekar—causing many to flee and switch off their mobile phones. The racket, which defrauded the government of crores of rupees by creating bogus 'Shalarth IDs,' originated in Jalgaon district and operated with the complicity of Education Department officials. Police have thoroughly investigated the roots of the case; the probe revealed that many administrators lacked necessary teacher appointment documents and discrepancies were found in service records as well as inward-outward registers.
Over ten thousand pages of concrete evidence have been collected from various schools and institutions during the investigation. Sanjay Garud had left the district as soon as he sensed the investigation into the Shalarth IDs was closing in; teachers from his institution are now in a state of panic. Following his arrest, Garud was taken to the Civil Hospital in Nashik for a medical check-up on Tuesday night, where he complained of chest pain; reports indicate he was subsequently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
BJP leader Sanjay Garud was formerly with the Congress party and had contested elections three times against Girish Mahajan in the Jamner constituency, though he was defeated on each occasion. For some time, he was with the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party. On January 30, 2024, he joined the BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, facilitated by Girish Mahajan.
