RTE Admission Fraud: FIR filed against 24 parents; Cases Registered in Navi Mumbai for Submitting Fake Address Proofs

2 min read

Somdatta Roy

Senior Content Writer | Updated on - Jul 8, 2025

24 parents face charges from Panvel City Police for allegedly submitting fabricated address proofs. The accusation states they cheated the government by claiming RTE eligibility based on living within a 1 km radius of schools, despite residing outside this critical limit.

An FIR has been registered by Panvel City Police against 24 parents. They were accused of submitting forged address proof documents to fraudulently obtain admissions for their children under the Right to Education (RTE) Act's 25% quota for underprivileged children.

The case stems from a complaint filed on July 3 by Sitaram Rama Mohite, an education officer and chairperson of the RTE admission verification committee.

The Alleged Fraud: How It Was Revealed

On March 25, the Panchayat Samiti of Panvel taluka ordered all unaided private schools to verify the residence proofs of students admitted under the underprivileged quota, leading to the surfacing of this issue. Under RTE norms, a 1 km radius of residency from these private schools' grants children priority for the 25% admission quota.

Verification reports from schools including Vishwajyot High School, Wigbor High School, and Ramsheth Thakur Public School in Kharghar revealed that 24 parents were not found at the addresses provided in their documents. An investigating officer stated, "It is alleged that the accused parents either tampered with original documents or submitted completely fabricated proofs of residence to claim eligibility under the RTE quota."

The Online Admission Process and Alleged Exploitation

The online admission process, managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) via a lottery system, was conducted on January 13, 2025. After children were selected, parents were required to provide proof of residence along with other necessary documents. The accused allegedly exploited the 1 km radius clause to gain admissions through fraudulent means, authorities believe.

Charges Filed Under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)

Panvel City Police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the 24 parents and others who allegedly assisted in preparing the fake documents. The specific sections include:

Section 318 (4) (cheating)
Section 336 (2) (forgery)
Section 338 (forgery of valuable securities)
Section 340 (2) (forgery of documents)

The police have initiated further investigation into the matter.

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