Mithi River Scam: Mumbai’s crucial drainage artery, known as Mithi River, has drawn the attention of the nation. The desilting project of the river is the reason behind this, which has also dragged Bollywood Actor Dino Morea.
On Monday, 26 May, the actor and his brother Santino were questioned for about eight hours by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police.
The questioning was in connection with their link to the middleman arrested in this case. The case has already seen multiple arrests and significant political fallout.
What Is Mithi River Scam?
The Mithi River is a 17.8-kilometre-long river that originates from the overflow of the Vihar and Pawai lakes. It drains into Mahim Creek and ultimately into the Arabian Sea.
After the devastating July 2005 Mumbai floods, which resulted in over a thousand deaths, the river has come under scrutiny for its heavy pollution and silt accumulation. This has reduced its capacity to carry stormwater during the Monsoon.
Over the past two decades, the richest civic body in India, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has initiated multiple desilting efforts for the Mithi River.
Despite allocating large sums of public funds for cleaning and maintenance of the Mithi River, allegations of:
- Negligence,
- Corruption and
- Ineffective work has routinely surfaced
The Rs 65 Crore Scam
EOW has so far registered thirteen cases against the contractors and BMC officers at the beginning of May.
The investigating officers said that tenders for hiring specialised dredging machines were manipulated to benefit certain suppliers.
These tenders were allegedly prepared with special conditions to eliminate competition and award contracts to favoured entities.
The contractors then prepared fake bills for silt transportation that were either not carried out or were inflated. A contract worth Rs 8 crore was allegedly inflated to Rs 17 crore.
As a result, BMC allegedly paid inflated prices for the machines it received from Kochi-based company Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd.
Officials estimate that BMC suffered a financial loss of over Rs 65 crore in this fraud.
Investigating officers also believe that this fraud was carried out by some BMC officials and employees of the Matprop company.
Two main middlemen, Ketan Kadam and Jayesh Jai Joshi, were arrested in the case.
Dino Morea Under Investigation
Bollywood actor Dino Morea is known for his work in films of the early 2000s. He will also be seen in the film ‘Housefull-5’, which is set to release next month.
Mr Morea and his brother Santino were summoned by the EOW when it was found that they were frequently in communication with Ketan Kadam.
Kadam, who was arrested earlier in the case, is said to have played a role in coordinating the desilting contracts and rental machinery.
Both Dino and Santino arrived at the EOW office at the Mumbai Police Commissionerate in South Mumbai on Monday (May 26) morning.
They stayed inside for about eight hours, during which they were questioned and their statements were recorded. However, the nature of their involvement in the case is not yet clear and is still being investigated.
Dino Morea has not yet been made an accused in the scam.
According to EOW officials, Dino Morea was called because the investigation has found records of several phone conversations between him and his brother Santino Morea and the main accused in the case, Ketan Kadam.
Now the police are investigating what was discussed between them.
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