Road scam: 4 engineers from private firms held

MUMBAI: Four site engineers working for private firms hired by the civic body were arrested on Sunday in the Rs 340-crore road scam case. This takes the tally of

MUMBAI: Four site engineers working for private firms hired by the civic body were arrested on Sunday in the Rs 340-crore road scam case. This takes the tally of the number of arrests in the case to 14.

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The four accused, Sanjay Singh, Sunil Chavan, Sandip Jadhav and Santhanavel Velmani, have been remanded in police custody by the Esplanade court for two days.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Ajoy Mehta had ordered an inquiry into the road works in October last year, following a confidential letter by mayor Snehal Ambekar alleging malpractices.

During the inspection, the BMC-appointed inquiry team found massive irregularities in the repair and reconstruction of 34 roads across the city. Mehta had previously suspended two chief engineers, blacklisted six contractors and two third-party auditors.

A police officer, on condition of anonymity, said the four inspected the roads that required repairs on behalf of audit firms to assess the damage. The officer told the court all four also oversaw the work daily.

Deputy commissioner of police Ashok Dhudhe said several others, including BMC employees, may be arrested. “We are investigating the role of each of the accused,” he said. A case was registered in April and the complaint is being probed by an assistant commissioner of police-level officer.

The FIR was registered under sections 120 (A) (criminal conspiracy), 197 (producing false documents) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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