Contractor booked for forging bank documents to get BMC tender

According to the complainant, Rahul Gade, the pest control officer of the R-south ward, the accused firm Abbasia Urban Services, owned by Haider Hussain, had applied for a tender issued in September 2022. The winning bid by the company was to provide fumigation services in under-construction buildings within the jurisdiction of the ward for 140 days at the cost of ₹45 lakh, the complaint told the police

Mumbai: A contractor with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was booked recently for allegedly providing forged bank documents to get a tender for pest control from the civic body.

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According to the complainant, Rahul Gade, the pest control officer of the R-south ward, the accused firm Abbasia Urban Services, owned by Haider Hussain, had applied for a tender issued in September 2022. The winning bid by the company was to provide fumigation services in under-construction buildings within the jurisdiction of the ward for 140 days at the cost of ₹45 lakh, the complaint told the police.

“After winning the tender in October 2022, the company was told to submit various documents, including a bank guarantee of ₹90,000, before signing the contract with the BMC. By December, they had been allotted work amounting to ₹14 lakh,” the civic official told the police.

However, during a subsequent check of the documents, the officer found that the bank guarantee was suspicious, said Gade. He added that the documents were then sent to the bank for verifying the authenticity, and the bank authorities said that no such guarantee had been provided to the consumer concerned.

“The BMC then sent the accused a show cause notice to explain his actions. In his written response, Hussain said he had furnished the fake documents by mistake,” said an officer from the MHB Colony police station. He added that the accused also tried to bargain with the officials, saying he will provide them with a genuine document at the earliest.

According to the police, the entire deal with Hussain’s firm was stopped, and the incident was reported to higher authorities within the BMC. “Based on the allegations and the documentary evidence, including copies of their conversation with Hussain, we have booked the accused for cheating and forgery,” the officer added.