STES Founder & others booked for defrauding teachers of over ₹5.06 crore

PUNE: The Bharati Vidyapeeth police have booked the founder of Sinhagad Technical Education Society (STES), Maruti Navale, along with several trustees and office-bearers, for allegedly cheating 27 teachers of more than ₹5

PUNE: The Bharati Vidyapeeth police have booked the founder of Sinhagad Technical Education Society (STES), Maruti Navale, along with several trustees and office-bearers, for allegedly cheating 27 teachers of more than ₹5.06 crore by withholding their salaries for nearly six years and threatening them with dismissal and death whenever they demanded their dues.

The case was registered following a complaint filed by a 45-year-old teacher, Aarti Purandare from Shukrawar Peth, who has been working at Sinhagad Springdale School in Ambegaon.

Based on the complaint, the police on Thursday booked Maruti Nivrutti Navale, founder of STES; Sunanda Maruti Navale, secretary; vice-presidents Rachana Navale alias Ashtekar and Rohit Maruti Navale; accounts department employees Sanjay More and Sharad Jarade; and other trustees of the institution.

According to the police, the alleged offences took place from April 2020 till date at Sinhagad Springdale School, Ambegaon. The complainant alleged that despite continuously working with the institution, she and 26 other teachers were either paid only a fraction of their salaries or received nominal amounts. After a few more months, they allegedly received no salary.

As per the complaint, the complainant alone is owed ₹19.36 lakh while the unpaid salaries of the remaining 26 teachers amount to ₹4.87 crore, totalling ₹50,683,418 – the alleged fraud amount.

The teachers alleged that whenever they sought payment of their pending salaries, the management initially assured them that their dues would be cleared. Upon continuing to pursue the matter however, they were allegedly threatened with termination of services and even warned of dire consequences, including threats to their lives.

The complaint also highlights that salary delays have affected employees across several institutions run by the society. It further mentions that a security guard employed at one of the Sinhagad institutes allegedly committed suicide on the campus after not receiving his salary for two years.

Teachers and employees of the society have staged protests on several occasions demanding payment of their pending salaries, but the management has failed to address their grievances.

Senior police inspector Manasing Patil of Bharati Vidyapeeth police station, said, “All the affected teachers had approached the police with their complaints. Based on their complaints, an FIR has been registered. The founder of the institution, Maruti Navale, and the other accused will be summoned for questioning as part of the investigation.”

A case has been filed at the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station under sections 316(2), 318(4), 126(2), 352, 351(2), and 3(5) of the BNS. Calls and messages sent to the institute authorities remained unanswered.