Mithi River Desilting Scam: EOW Files 7,000-Page Chargesheet; BMC Engineers, Contractors Accused Of ₹65.54 Crore Fraud

Mumbai: In a major development in the ₹65.54 crore Mithi River desilting scam, Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has submitted a voluminous 7,000-page chargesheet before the court against arrested middlemen Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi. The court is yet to take cognizance of the chargesheet, which is likely to be filed officially by Monday, police sources confirmed.

The chargesheet invokes Section 474 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for possession of forged documents. According to officials, the EOW has recorded statements from 15–16 witnesses and alleged that Kadam and Joshi collected ₹4.5 crore of the total ₹9 crore siphoned off through manipulation of tenders. Investigations will continue under BNSS Section 193(9), which allows further inquiry and supplemental charges.

Middlemen Influenced Tender Allocation

According to the chargesheet, Kadam and Joshi acted as intermediaries who influenced the allocation of desilting contracts to pre-selected companies. The scam involves top-ranking officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and directors of several private contracting firms.

Senior BMC Engineers Among 13 Accused

The FIR, registered on May 6 at Azad Maidan Police Station, names 13 accused. Among the government officials booked are Assistant Engineer Prashant Ramugade (designated as the prime accused), retired Chief Engineer Ganesh Bendre, and Deputy Chief Engineer (Eastern Suburbs) Tayshetye.

From the private sector, key accused include Deepak Mohan and Kishor Menon (directors of Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd), Bhupendra Purohit (proprietor of Tridev Contractors), and directors of Acute Construction, Kailas Construction, N.A. Construction, and JRS Infrastructure all listed as wanted accused in the chargesheet.

Pattern of Bid Manipulation and Fake Machinery Deployment

EOW’s probe has revealed a pattern of favoritism and bid manipulation. In 2023–24, Tridev Enterprises, owned by Bhupendra Purohit, was awarded a desilting contract. In earlier years, firms connected to Purohit, including MB Brothers and Tanisha Enterprises allegedly run by his brother and brother-in-law were repeatedly favored with BMC tenders, often under the alleged influence of Ramugade and Kadam.

The tender conditions were reportedly tailored to exclude competitors and ensure that only Purohit’s companies qualified. Despite the lack of actual machinery deployment from as early as 2021 payments were disbursed. Notably, in 2021, tenders required eight machines for desilting, yet none were deployed until June. The same pattern was observed in 2022 and 2023, with no machines used, but substantial payments still released.