Lucknow, Jun 16 (IANS): The Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Pushpendra a.k.a. Raj, the main mastermind of the Anamika Shukla scam in which multiple teachers were found teaching in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) on documents of one applicant.
In a statement, the STF said that apart from Pushpendra, two others identified as Anand of Jaunpur and Ramnath of Kheri have also been arrested.
Police recovered a licensed pistol and seven cartridges, mobile phones and some documents from them.
The curious case involved teachers being recruited in state government schools on the basis of educational certificates of one woman -- Anamika Shukla -- who had cleared the eligibility test but could not join the job due to personal reasons.
The fake Anamika Shuklas, who got employed using her documents, drew lakhs in salaries from multiple schools.
The scam drew flak from opposition leaders including Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and last week, the state government handed over the investigation to its Special Task Force (STF).
Teachers had got jobs in Anamika Shukla's name at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in Prayagraj, Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi, Baghpat, Kasganj, Saharanpur, Ambedkar Nagar and Aligarh, according to earlier reports.
The probe found that the real Anamika Shukla of Gonda had applied for the post of a KGBV teacher in 2017 at Sultanpur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Basti and Lucknow. She got calls from Sultanpur, Jaunpur and Lucknow but due to her health, she did not take the job.
Her documents were misused and teachers in several districts worked in her name, the STF said. The real Anamika Shukla had lodged a FIR in this connection in Gonda on June 11.
The women arrested in this connection had named Pushpendra as the mastermind.
The STF received a tip off about Pushpendra's presence in Gomti Nagar on Monday night and he was arrested along with the two others.
During interrogation, Pushpendra said he got Anamika Shukla's documents from Anand in 2019. He then took Rs 2 lakh each from the candidates and got them appointment as teachers on fake documents.