Sinhgad Education Society Founder, Six Others Booked Over Alleged ₹5.06 Crore Salary Fraud Complaint by 27 Teachers
Sinhgad Education Society Founder, Six Others Booked Over Alleged ₹5.06 Crore Salary Fraud Complaint by 27 Teachers
Pune, July 5: The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police have registered a criminal case against Sinhgad Technical Education Society founder Maruti Navale and six others following allegations that 27 teachers were denied salaries for more than six years, resulting in alleged unpaid dues of over ₹5.06 crore.
The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by a 45-year-old teacher employed at Sinhgad Spring Dale School in Ambegaon. Apart from Maruti Navale, those named in the case include Sunanda Maruti Navale, Rachana Navale (Ashtekar), Rohit Maruti Navale, accounts department officials Sanjay More and Sharad Jarade, along with other trustees of the society.
According to the complaint, the alleged offences occurred between April 2020 and the present. The teachers claimed they continued to perform their duties despite receiving either no salary or only partial payments on a few occasions. Whenever they sought payment of their pending wages, they were allegedly assured that the dues would be cleared. However, they claimed that repeated demands for payment were met with threats of termination and, in some instances, criminal intimidation.
The complainant has alleged unpaid salary dues of ₹19.36 lakh, while the remaining 26 teachers have claimed pending salaries amounting to ₹4.87 crore. The total alleged financial loss in the case stands at ₹5.06 crore.
Sinhgad Technical Education Society operates several educational institutions across Pune and Maharashtra, including engineering, pharmacy, law, arts, science and commerce colleges, employing thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff.
The society has faced criticism in the past over delayed salary payments. Employees from various institutions have staged protests in recent years over unpaid wages. The complaint also refers to an earlier incident in which a security guard allegedly died by suicide after reportedly not receiving his salary for an extended period, leading to another criminal case against members of the management.
Senior Police Inspector Manasing Patil of Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station confirmed that an FIR has been registered based on the teachers’ complaint. He said the accused would be summoned for questioning and that further investigation is underway.
