Maharashtra’s teachers’ recruitment scandal is getting murkier with nearly 30% files on appointment process are missing. After 32 teaching and non-teaching staff approvals made by Pune Municipal Corporation education officer Baban Dahiphale were declared bogus by the state education commissioner last week, additional 98 false approvals were confirmed in Washim.

In the last three months a whopping 6,000 cases of teachers approvals in state-aided schools across Maharashtra are being investigated wherein large-scale forgery is suspected.

An official survey earlier conducted had found that after 2012, despite the state government ban on recruitment of teachers in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools there were excess teachers in many educational institutions.

State education commissioner Purshottam Bhapkar says “In many cases of approvals we suspect foul play. There are some 6,000-odd cases which our department is probing.”

 “What is serious is that in nearly 30 percent cases, we are not getting the files pertaining to the approval process and is proving to be a challenge for us. In the absence of documentation it is difficult to ascertain if any forgery was done and this is the case in many districts. The general excuse is that the file cannot be found or is lost which gives rise to doubts whether the information and papers were deliberately held back to suppress information,” Bhapkar said.

In cases where inquiry has been completed action has been initiated. Approvals of illegal appointments have been cancelled. Salaries drawn by the appointees for the last three years will be taken back.