Satna: Block Education Officer Suspended Over ₹6.34 Lakh Salary Fraud

The Rewa divisional commissioner, Shailendra Singh, has suspended Garun Pratap Singh, the in-charge Block Education Officer of Rampur Baghelan block in Satna district. After the suspension he has been attached to the district education officer's office in Satna.

Authorities allege that ₹6,34,803 was paid into the bank accounts of private individuals as salary and arrears, using forged signatures of school principals. The action followed the report of a four-member inquiry committee and a proposal from the joint director of public instruction in Rewa.

The inquiry concluded that the officer did not properly check the payment bills and depended on subordinates without verifying their claims.

Others have already faced action in the case. Five clerks were suspended earlier and a data entry operator's contract was terminated, with a proposal for the termination sent to SEDMAP. District Education Officer Saloni Sharma first suspended Amit Kushwaha, a peon at a government higher secondary school in Gulhata. The joint director later suspended four employees of the district education office: Mridula Patel, Pradeep Kumar Dahiya, Ran Bahadur Singh and Virendra Kumar Tripathi.

Suspension is an administrative step taken while an inquiry continues and does not by itself establish guilt. The case shows how payroll fraud can pass through several desks when bills are signed without checks. The department has not said whether the money will be recovered or whether a police case will be filed.

Departmental inquiries of this kind usually continue after a suspension, and the final findings and any recovery of the money are decided later. The suspension itself is an administrative step and not a finding of guilt in court. Further action, if any, will depend on the inquiry report and the response of the officer concerned.