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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Mithi River desilting fraud: Court grants bail to intermediary Jay Joshi
MUMBAI: The sessions court on Thursday granted bail to Jay Ashok Joshi, a purported intermediary arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in Mithi river desilting contracts. The detailed court order is not yet available, so it isn't clear why the 49-year-old was granted bail. Additional sessions judge NG Shukla, in his operative order, directed Joshi to be released on executing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh. Joshi was also directed to visit the office of the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) whenever called and cooperate with the investigation. The court cautioned him not to tamper with or create hurdles in the investigation. Two weeks ago, a metropolitan magistrate court had rejected the bail pleas of Joshi and another intermediary, Ketan Kadam. They were among 13 people, including three Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, booked in connection with the alleged fraud. The case involves alleged financial irregularities, inflated tenders, and corrupt practices linked to desilting work for the Mithi River, which caused the BMC losses worth over ₹65 crore, according to the EOW. Joshi is associated with Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer, while Kadam is the director of a desilting services company, Woder India LLP. According to the police, the duo were involved in charging the BMC an inflated amount to rent silt pusher machines and dredging equipment supplied by a Kochi-based firm, Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd. The police claimed this was done in connivance with Matprop executives and officials from the BMC's storm water drains department (SWD). Matprop's director, Dipak Mohan, who was also booked in the case, has denied that he or his company were involved in the fraud. Last week, the police questioned actor Dino Morea and his younger brother Santino after learning that the latter and Kadam's wife, Punita Kadam, were directors in a private company. The police said that they had found some financial transactions between Punita Kadam and Santino Morea, which were being verified. Later, the police claimed they also found a couple of bank transactions between Dino Morea and Ketan Kadam, who have known each other for around 25 years. The police did not reveal the amounts involved in the transactions and who paid whom.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- NDTV
Mumbai Cops Question Actor Dino Morea In River Cleaning Corruption Case
Mumbai: Actor Dino Morea appeared before the Mumbai Police today for questioning in a corruption case linked to a contract for cleaning Mithi river that runs through Mumbai. According to sources in the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing, the 49-year-old actor and his brother were in touch with Ketan Kadam, a prime accused in the case who was arrested earlier this month. Morea's name came up when the investigators analysed the call records of Ketan Kadam and his co-accused Jai Joshi, the sources said. He and his brother were found to have spoken to Ketan Kadam multiple times over the phone. The actor is being questioned about his links to the accused and if he knew about their dealings. What Is Mithi River Desilting Scam The Economic Offences Wing has alleged irregularities worth Rs 65 crore after officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, a Kerala firm and Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi -- who rent out silt pusher machines -- joined hands for a contract to desilt Mithi river. It is alleged that a team of BMC officials visited the plant of Matprop, a Kerala-based firm specialising in desilting and dredging machines. BMC later floated tenders with specifications that exactly match Matprop machines. This meant any contractor who applies for the tender would have to buy or hire machines from the Kerala firm. The investigation has revealed that when a BMC official went to Matprop to buy the machines, he was directed to 'middlemen' Ketan Kadam and Jai Joshi, who rent out such machines. They initially asked for Rs 8 crore for a two-year contract to rent out silt pusher machines and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines. Eventually, an agreement was reached on Rs 4 crore. It is alleged that BMC officials, Matprop representatives, and Kadam and Joshi colluded to hatch and carry out this conspiracy. The desilting rate was also hiked. The normal rate was Rs 1,609 per metric tonne, it was increased to Rs 2,193 per metric tonne for these machines. When the BMC's vigilance department objected, the earlier rate was approved. The officials paid Rs 17 crore to the contractors, the investigation has found. The contractors allegedly generated fake bills for transporting sludge out of Mumbai. A total of 13 persons have been charged in the case. These include Matprop's Dipak Mohan and Kishore Menon. Only two - Kadam and Joshi - have been arrested.
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Mithi River desilting fraud: Bail of 2 intermediaries rejected
Mumbai: An additional chief judicial magistrate court on Thursday rejected the bail pleas of two intermediaries arrested in the Mithi river desilting scam. The detailed court order hadn't been uploaded online at the time of going to press, so it isn't clear why the bail pleas were rejected. According to the police, the two arrested accused, Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi, charged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) an inflated amount to rent silt pusher machines and dredging equipment supplied by a Kochi-based firm, Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd. The police claimed this was done in connivance with Matprop executives and officials from the BMC's storm water drains department (SWD). Kadam, 50, is the director of Woder India LLP, a Mumbai-based company that provides desilting services, while Jayesh Joshi, 49, is associated with Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer. Kadam and Joshi were among 13 people booked by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police earlier this month in connection with the alleged fraud. The accused include three BMC officials, three intermediaries, five private contractors, and two private company executives. The fraud, according to the police, involves alleged financial irregularities, inflated tenders, and corrupt practices linked to desilting work for the Mithi River, which allegedly led to a loss of ₹65.54 crore for the BMC. Joshi denied the charges in court. His lawyers, Dr Yusuf Iqbal and advocate Zain Shroff from YNA Legal LLP, argued that he was an independent investor and infrastructure equipment provider who legally imported and owned the machines. These machines were leased to various contractors according to private agreements without any direct payment or contractual engagement with the BMC, they claimed. 'The machines were not leased to the BMC. There is no financial gain or wrongful benefit to Joshi from BMC or anybody else. As per the allegations, the actual tender beneficiaries—the contractors—and the officials who are allegedly responsible for the tender irregularities remain untouched and were not even investigated. Our client, a third-party private vendor who supplied machines on rent, is being made a scapegoat and dragged into this alleged scam when he is not even remotely associated with the BMC,' Joshi's lawyers told the court. According to the EOW, here's how the alleged fraud happened: BMC officials visited Kochi in October 2020 to purchase desilting equipment from Matprop. The company allegedly quoted ₹3 crore for silt pusher machines and ₹2 crore for multipurpose amphibious dredging equipment. However, instead of purchasing the machines, the BMC decided to pay the contractors on a per-metric-tonne basis for the silt and dredge removed from the river, officials said. The BMC officials then floated tenders with the same specifications that Matprop's equipment had, so that any contractor would be required to buy or hire only its machines. The BMC's tender, in effect, gave a monopoly to Matprop, which was the only manufacturer of machines with those specifications in the country. The company's director, Dipak Mohan, has also been booked in the case. Then, when the contractors approached Matprop, they were directed to Joshi and Kadam, who, in connivance with Mohan, rented the equipment at inflated rates, according to the police. Every year, to benefit the contractors and BMC officials involved in the scam, the amount of mud removed from the Mithi River was also increased on paper to cheat the civic body, according to the police.
Hindustan Times
08-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Mithi River desilting scam: EOW arrests two intermediaries
MUMBAI: A day after booking 13 people in connection with the alleged ₹ 65-crore Mithi River desilting scam, the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested two of the accused—Ketan Kadam and Jayesh Joshi—who allegedly acted as intermediaries in the supply of equipment. Mumbai, India - May 7, 2025:EOW Dept of Mumbai Police arrested 2 accused Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi Mithi River Desilting case and produced at Esplanade Court, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) Kadam is the director of Woder India LLP, a Mumbai-based company that provides desilting services, while Joshi is associated with Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer. According to the police, the two arrested accused acted as intermediaries in renting out silt pusher machines and multipurpose amphibious dredging equipment supplied by Kochi-based Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd. They allegedly charged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) an inflated amount for the equipment, in connivance with officials from the civic body's storm water drains department (SWD) and Matprop executives. 'We have arrested Jay Joshi, 49, of Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd and Ketan Kadam, 50, of Woder India LLP. They were produced before a court that has sent them to police custody till May 13,' said a police officer, who requested anonymity. The EOW told the court it had found several BMC documents in the accused's mobile phones, along with entries related to cash received from various contractors and copies of tenders related to the Mithi River desilting work, for which they need to be questioned. 'We had called them for questioning after registering the offence on Tuesday morning. When we found their answers were unsatisfactory, they were placed under arrest on Tuesday night,' said a police officer. HT reached out to Woder India and Virgo Specialties for a reaction, but didn't get a response till the time of going to press. On Tuesday, the EOW booked 13 people, including three civic officials, for allegedly causing the BMC a loss of ₹ 65.54 crore in connection with the Mithi River desilting project. According to the EOW, the accused BMC officials tailored the tender for the desilting contract to benefit machinery supplier Matprop, whose director, Dipak Mohan, has also been booked in the case. When contacted by HT on Tuesday, Mohan denied that he or his company were involved in the fraud. BMC officials visited Kochi in October 2020 to purchase desilting equipment from Matprop, the police officer said. The company allegedly quoted ₹ 3 crore for silt pusher machines and ₹ 2 crore for multipurpose amphibious dredging equipment. However, instead of purchasing the machines, the BMC decided to pay the contractors on a per-metric-tonne basis for the silt and dredge removed from the river, officials said. The accused BMC officials then floated tenders with the same specifications that Matprop's equipment had, so that any contractor would be required to buy or hire only its machines, according to the investigation. 'The BMC's tender had a mention of the specific machines that should be available to remove the silt, giving a monopoly to Matprop Technical Services, which was the only manufacturer of the machines in the country,' said the police officer. 'When the contractors approached the company, they directed the contractors to Joshi and Kadam, who, in connivance with Matprop director Dipak Mohan, sold the equipment to contractor Bhupendra Purohit's Tridev Infrastructure,' added the police officer. Purohit's relatives' firm, Tanisha Enterprises, was then awarded BMC contracts in 2021-22, while his own company, Tridev Infrastructure, won contracts in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the officer said. The rent to be paid by the companies for the machines was decided at ₹ 4 crore for two years, when the price of the machines was ₹ 5 crore, the officer added. Purohit is also an accused in the case. 'To ensure the contractor did not suffer losses, the rate for the silt was decided at ₹ 1,609 per metric tonne (MT), which was later increased to ₹ 2,193 per MT for silt pushing machines and ₹ 2,366 per MT for multipurpose amphibious dredging equipment,' said the police officer. After the BMC's vigilance department objected to the rates, they were brought back to ₹ 1,609 per tonne, the officer said. However, despite this, payments were made at the inflated rate to contractors, causing a loss of ₹ 17 crore to the civic body, the officer added. No scientific valuation was done of the amount of mud in the Mithi River, according to the EOW. Every year, to benefit the contractors and BMC officials involved in the scam, the amount of mud removed was increased on paper to cheat the civic body, officials said.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Mithi ‘scam': Cops find BMC file notings, raw draft of tenders on suspect's devices
Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) has found photocopies of file notings by BMC officials from one of the arrested accused in the Rs 65.5-crore Mithi river desilting scam case, said police on Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Two of the 13 named in the FIR lodged on May 6—Ketan Kadam (50) and Jay Joshi (49)—were arrested on Tuesday. Kadam is associated with Ketan Vodar India LLP, while Jay Joshi is a director at Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd. They were produced before a court and sent to police custody till May 13. In their remand application, police said they have seized electronic devices from Kadam, which contain the posting orders of BMC officials. Investigators also found photocopies of the original file notings of BMC and raw draft copies of tenders, they said. "We want to investigate who provided these copies to the accused," said an officer. Additionally, police found details in the devices of cash received from various contractors. "It is important to probe who gave this money. We suspect it could be a commission," said the officer. On March 20 last year, the EOW constituted a special investigation team (SIT) led by joint commissioner Nishith Mishra, DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar and inspector Santosh Tore to probe the alleged scam. There are allegations that the accused persons, contractors, middlemen and several BMC officials connived and caused a loss of Rs 65.5 crore to the civic body by not desilting Mithi river, submitted fake bills and got them cleared. Police said Kadam signed rental agreements for silt pusher machines and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines between the contractors and the company renting them. The machinery belonged to Matprop, a company that sold two machines to Virgo, said a police officer. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now While the machine cost around Rs 3.1 crore, the BMC officers named as accused allegedly changed the note sheet and asked the contractors to take it on rent. The contractors rented it for Rs 4 crore for two years. Earlier, BMC would pay Rs 1,609 per tonne for desilting, but it gave new rates of Rs 2,193 in 2021 and Rs 2,366 in 2023 tenders. The old rate was restored after the civic vigilance department objected to the revisions. A police officer said when a contractor who wanted to buy the machine went to Matprop, he was asked to contact Kadam and Joshi. Advocates Mahesh Rajpopat and Hemal Kanani, who appeared for Joshi in court, said, "The investigation in the matter is in progress. It seems the main culprits in the matter have not been arrested yet... No specific role is attributed to [Joshi] in the FIR."
