The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made another breakthrough in the ₹65 crore Mithi River cleaning project scam. On Thursday, officials arrested Sher Singh Rathod, owner of Mandeep Enterprises. Earlier, Jai Joshi and Ketan Kadam had already been taken into custody. With the arrest of the third accused, the investigation has now gained momentum.
The case dates back to 2021-22, when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) awarded contracts for de-silting operations in the Mithi River. Contractors were given work orders to remove silt from the riverbed. However, instead of actually carrying out the de-silting work, the accused allegedly submitted fake bills by showing videos and photographs of debris transportation using tractors and trucks.
Investigations further revealed that fake Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were shown in the name of landowners to claim that silt had been dumped. Shockingly, in one case, the landowner in whose name the MoU was shown had already passed away before the agreement was allegedly signed.
The contractors also claimed to have hired machinery for the project. However, probe revealed that the said machinery did not even exist with the concerned owners at that time. By submitting forged agreements, photographs and records, the contractors managed to claim ₹29.63 crore from BMC for silt removal that was never carried out.
Following the emergence of these evidences during the probe, Sher Singh Rathod was arrested and has been remanded in police custody till August 26. Sources said more arrests in the case are likely as the investigation progresses.