MUMBAI, March 17 -- The Nashik Road Police Station has registered an FIR against 1,530 teachers and non-teaching staff in the fake Shalarth ID scam, where the accused allegedly used bogus IDs on the Shalarth portal to receive salaries from the government. The fraud took place in Nashik division between 2019 and 2025. The FIR also has the names of three former deputy directors of education and the then pay squad superintendent. The authorities have alleged that the accused cheated the government of nearly Rs 150 crore over the past six years. The scam was first reported in the Nagpur division in 2024, where fake approvals, bogus Shalarth IDs and fraudulent Teacher Eligibility Test certificates were discovered. Several criminal cases were registered and five people, including senior education department officials, were arrested. The state government later formed a Special Investigation Team in August last year to investigate the scam across the state. Officials from the education department found 1,530 suspicious entries of teachers and non-teaching staff from primary and secondary schools in Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar and Jalgaon. According to the FIR, several cases linked to the tenure of the three former deputy directors are emerging during the probe. Considering the scale of the fraud, the case has now been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for further investigation. "The accused officials allegedly conspired to commit financial fraud and mislead the government," said police inspector Ramdas Shelke. "The school principals and managements of the concerned institutions where the teachers and staff were appointed are also being investigated for their possible role in the scam." Following the scam, the state education department has directed all government-aided and partially aided schools to upload and verify the original approval documents of teachers and non-teaching staff appointed between November 7, 2012 and November 18, 2016. The verification drive is aimed at identifying fake profiles created on the Shalarth portal. Commenting on the issue, Shivnath Darade, an executive member of Shikshak Parishad said, "N G Ganar, an MLC from the Nagpur Teachers Constituency, had raised the issue earlier and has been following it up with the government. We hope those responsible will be punished."...