Mithi River desilting fraud: Court grants bail to intermediary Jay Joshi

MUMBAI: Court grants bail to Jay Ashok Joshi in Mithi river desilting fraud case; he must cooperate with police and not hinder investigation.

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.

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)

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.