Rs 65 crore Mithi desilting scam Court refuses bail to two middlemen

Mumbai, May 26 (PTI) A Mumbai court has refused bail to two middlemen arrested for their alleged role in the more than Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting scam observing that their causing "hurdles in the investigation cannot be ruled out" if released.
The additional chief judicial magistrate (Esplanade court) had last week rejected the bail pleas of accused Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi.
In the two separate orders, made available on Monday, the court noted that more Rs 65 crore is involved in this crime and, therefore, wrongful loss was caused to the public.
"If the accused are released on bail, the possibility of causing hurdles in the investigation cannot be ruled out," the court held.
The two accused, in their bail pleas, had claimed they were innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case.
Kadam claimed the prosecution case is based on documentary evidence and, therefore, his custody is not warranted.
Not even a single rupee has been received by him and he has been made a scapegoat, Kadam said in his plea.
Joshi's plea stated that he is not a beneficiary of any illegal gains as alleged by the prosecution.
The accused is primarily an investor and financier involved in multiple business ventures and only delivered machines to contractors, the plea said.
He does not have any concern regarding the tender issued by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) for desilting and cleaning of Mithi River, it added.
The prosecution opposed their pleas saying they have committed a "serious offence" and investigation is still pending.
The prosecution alleged the accused, by using influence and good terms with the BMC officers, caused loss to the civic body and grabbed some amounts.
Accepting the prosecution submission, the court noted the offence is related to public money.
Due to the act of the accused, wrongful loss is caused to the government and public at large, the court order said.
Considering the stage of investigation, it will not be appropriate to release the accused on bail at this juncture, the court said.
Earlier this month, the police registered a case against 13 persons, including contractors and civic officials, for an alleged Rs 65 crore scam related to the desilting of the Mithi River, which flows through the city.
It is alleged that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials tailored the tender for the desilting contract to benefit a particular supplier of machinery needed for the work.
Further, the contractors generated fraudulent bills for transporting sludge out of Mumbai. The civic body suffered a loss of more than Rs 65.54 crore due to the entire scam, police have stated.
In a development related to the scam, Bollywood actor Dino Morea was on Monday questioned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for his alleged links with the two middlemen.
The actor reached the EOW office at the Mumbai Police Commissioner's office complex in south Mumbai earlier in the day, an official said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)