Actor Dino Morea appeared before the Mumbai Police today for questioning in connection with a corruption case involving a contract to clean the Mithi River, which flows through Mumbai. Sources from the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police revealed that the 49-year-old actor and his brother were in contact with Ketan Kadam, a prime accused who was arrested earlier this month.
Morea’s name surfaced during the investigation after police analyzed call records of Ketan Kadam and co-accused Jai Joshi. Both Morea and his brother were found to have had multiple phone conversations with Kadam. The actor is being questioned about his association with the accused and whether he had any knowledge of their alleged illegal activities.
What is the Mithi River Desilting Scam?
The Economic Offences Wing has uncovered alleged irregularities worth Rs 65 crore involving officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Kerala-based firm named Matprop, and accused middlemen Ketan Kadam and Jai Joshi. The scandal revolves around a contract for desilting the Mithi River.
According to the investigation, BMC officials visited Matprop’s plant, a company specializing in desilting and dredging equipment. Following this visit, BMC floated tenders with specifications tailored precisely to Matprop’s machines, effectively forcing any contractor bidding for the tender to hire or purchase from Matprop.
When a BMC official sought to buy the machines, he was directed to middlemen Kadam and Joshi, who rent out these machines. Initially, they demanded Rs 8 crore for a two-year contract for renting silt pusher and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines, eventually settling on Rs 4 crore.
Investigators allege collusion between BMC officials, Matprop representatives, and Kadam and Joshi to orchestrate this scheme.
Additionally, the desilting rate was raised from Rs 1,609 to Rs 2,193 per metric tonne for these machines. After objections from the BMC vigilance department, the rate was reverted to the original amount. Despite this, Rs 17 crore was paid to the contractors. The investigation also found that contractors generated fake bills for sludge transportation outside Mumbai.
A total of 13 people have been charged, including Matprop’s Dipak Mohan and Kishore Menon, with only Kadam and Joshi arrested so far.
