Bogus salary scam: NMC suspends three staffers

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has suspended three employees of health department in bogus salary scam. Further action on the suspended employees— Tulsidas alias Rajesh Khote, Ajay Goikar and Gopal Pathak— will be taken after completion of departmental inquiry.
TOI on April 15 had exposed how two employees of health department including Khote were involved in bogus salary scam.The health department conducted an investigation and found irregularities by Khote and also involvement of Goikar and Pathak in the case.
On Wednesday, additional municipal commissioner Rizwan Siddiqui approved suspension of the three following which GAD assistant commissioner Mahesh Dhamecha issued suspension orders.
Khote was working with private garbage collector Kanak Resources Management Ltd (KRML) since 2005. NMC recruited him as sanitary worker in 2013 but Khote continued to work with KRML. Timing of work at NMC and KRML were same, between 6am and 2pm daily. Kothe used to work for KRML and manipulate attendance records of NMC daily with the help of Goikar, who was then sanitary inspector, and Pathak, a jamadar. Thus, Kothe drew salary between 2013 and 2016 from both the places while working only for KRML. All three employees are from Laxmi Nagar Zone.
Kothe left KRML and started working with the NMC after president of Maharashtra Pradesh Safai Kamgar Mahasangh (MPSKM) Kishor Samundre began collecting documents about him under RTI Act. Samundre had exposed the bogus salary scam a year ago. He revealed irregularities about two employees of health department— Muneshwar Ramteke and Ajay Hatibedh. NMC had suspended both in January.
Samundre told TOI he would be exposing some 100 more cases. “Many NMC sanitary workers and daily wage labourers (aiwajdars) are working with KRML and still drawing salaries from NMC in nexus with sanitary inspectors and zonal officers. Action is being taken against low rank employees but not against zonal officials despite them being involved,” he said.