In a major development related to the Rs 65.54 crore scam in the Storm Water Drain (SWD) department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested two prime accused. The arrested individuals have been identified as Ketan Arun Kadam (50) and Jay Ashok Joshi (49). Considering the seriousness of the case, a Mumbai court has remanded both accused to seven days of police custody.
Kadam was arrested at 8:30 PM on 6 May 2025, while Joshi was taken into custody two hours later at 10:30 PM. According to police officials, both accused, in collusion with certain BMC officers, misused public funds by creating fake documents and forged Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
According to information provided by the EOW, the accused, along with a few BMC officials, fabricated documents related to dumping ground land and got them accepted without any proper verification. This led to undue financial benefits to contractors. One of the key irregularities included a fake rental agreement worth Rs 8 crore for silt pusher machines and multipurpose amphibious machines—while the actual value of these machines was only Rs 2.5–3 crore.
The accused manipulated tender conditions to favour select companies by specifying certain machines, thereby ensuring those firms received the contracts. Furthermore, the rental charges for using these machines were fraudulently increased. While the standard rate was Rs 1,609 per hour, it was hiked to Rs 2,193 and Rs 2,366 per hour, causing a loss of Rs 17 crore to the BMC.
The investigation revealed that contractors from firms such as Mentop Company, Wislo Specialities Pvt Ltd, Koder India LLP, Acute Designs, and Tridev Infrastructure conspired with BMC officials to execute the scam. Though Kadam had no formal association with these firms, he signed multiple documents on their behalf. Several crucial documents, photocopies, and electronic evidence have also been recovered from his possession.
The EOW informed the court that a detailed examination of the electronic devices and documents seized from the accused is still pending. It also emphasized the need to interrogate the accused further to trace other absconding individuals. Following this, the court granted seven days of police custody for both.
Several senior BMC officials, directors of contractor companies, and other individuals are under suspicion in connection with the case. The scam, which allegedly spans from 2013 to 2023, is being termed as a large-scale financial fraud and remains under extensive investigation.