Mithi desilting scam: Intermediaries funded BMC officials’ foreign tour, claims EOW

Ketan Kadam hosted BMC officials in a hotel in Delhi in September 2020 and paid for their family trips to Singapore and Dubai, says EOW

Mumbai: Prashant Ramugade, the deputy chief engineer of Mithi River Development Project, had visited Dubai and Singapore in 2020-21 using funds provided by Ketan Kadam, who was arrested last week in connection with the alleged ₹65-crore Mithi river desilting scam, the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said on Tuesday.

On May 7, the EOW arrested Ketan Kadam (left), director of Woder India LLP, a Mumbai-based company that provides desilting services. Jayesh Joshi (right), associated with Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, was also arrested the same day) (Hindustan Times)

Kadam and Jayesh Joshi, who allegedly acted as intermediaries in renting out desilting machines to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at inflated rates, knew Ramugade prior to submitting bids for the desilting work, the EOW told the Esplanade court. Kadam even hosted the civic official and his family in Delhi and bought the tickets for their foreign trips, the EOW said.

The EOW had, on May 6, 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. The agency alleged that silt and debris was not removed from several places, inflated rates were charged for removing the silt and no audit of the desilting work was carried out.

On May 7, the EOW arrested Kadam, the director of Woder India LLP, a Mumbai-based company that provides desilting services. Joshi, associated with Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, was also arrested the same day.

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. 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, said a police officer.

On Tuesday, when Kadam and Joshi were produced before the Esplanade court, the EOW claimed that Kadam had hosted Ramugade and two other BMC officials – deputy chief engineer Ganesh Bendre and a certain Tayshete – in a hotel in Delhi in September 2020. Kadam had even paid for their plane tickets, which established that the arrested accused knew the BMC officials even before the tenders were floated, the EOW said.

When Ramugade visited Singapore with his family for four days in May 2021, Kadam paid for the expenses then too, said a police officer. “On December 13, 2021, Ramugade visited Dubai and we have found that those bookings were also done by Kadam,” said the officer.

The police said they had found several dummy companies and suspect money was routed by BMC officials to the intermediaries via these companies.

Dr Yusuf Iqbal and Zain Shroff, who had appeared for Joshi, argued that their client was just a middleman and he had not received a single penny from the civic body. He had merely rented out the machines while the tender was floated by the BMC, they said.

After hearing both sides, additional chief judicial magistrate Vinod Patil sent both the accused to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Ramugade had filed an anticipatory bail plea in the sessions court, which was due to be heard on Wednesday, the EOW told the Esplanade court.