Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Another contractor of drainage work was arrested by the MG Road police in connection with IMC’s fake drainage bills scam on Friday. He had presented fake bills and allegedly received Rs 2.75 crore from the account section of the IMC. So far, 11 accused including prime accused and contractors have been arrested.
MG Road police station in charge Vijay Singh Sisodiya informed Free Press that Imran Abdul Qayyum, a resident of Dayanand Nagar and the owner of Crystal Enterprises, was arrested on Friday evening from near Marimata Square. Some documents were recovered by the police. Information is being gathered about how he managed to present the bills and received money. He is being questioned to know the name of the officer, who passed his bills. Five more accused are on the run in connection with the scam. Police claimed that they would also be arrested soon.
Rathore again sent to police remand till 21
Abhay Rathore, prime accused in the scam, and contractor Mohammad Siddique were produced before the court after their remand period ended on Friday. Police have to recover some documents and evidence to which the court has sent Rathore to police remand till May 21. Rathore was on police remand till Friday and he was again sent to police remand. Mohammad Siddique, owner of Green Construction, who was arrested from Bhanwarkuan area and was on police remand was also produced before the court from where he was sent to jail.
Fake Bill Scam May Exceed Rs 1000 Cr, Nema Writes To CM
The magnitude of the fake bill scam of the drainage department of Indore Municipal Corporation is growing with names of new people cropping up and the siphoned-off amount going up every passing day.
Former MLA Gopikrishna Nema, a senior BJP leader, has raised concerns that the scam could potentially exceed Rs 1,000 crore. Nema, in a four-page letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, emphasised the complexity of the situation, urging a thorough investigation. “If old documents are gone through, the scam can go past the figure of Rs 1,000 crore,” he said.
Municipal Corporation officials are currently gathering documents sought by the Special Investigation Team, which is probing into the matter. The scam gained attention after an FIR was filed against five firms and their operators following a report by Sunil Gupta, executive engineer of the IMC’s drainage department. Initially believed to involve 20 fake bills totalling Rs 28 crore, further investigation revealed that the scam is bigger than initially thought. Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav recently stated that the payment of around Rs 75 to Rs 80 crore was made on the basis of fake bills.
