Mumbai Police`s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested two more people in connection with the alleged Rs 65.54-crore Mithi River desilting scam, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five, officials said on Wednesday.
Contractors Sunil Upadhyay and Mahesh Purohit were taken into custody for allegedly obtaining work orders using a forged Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), they said.
Both have been remanded in police custody, said an official.
The police officials said that last year, three BMC officials, five contractors, three intermediaries and two private companies were booked at Azad Maidan Police Station for irregularities in the long-running desilting project, which has reportedly caused losses of Rs 65.54 crore to the civic body.
The Mithi River desilting work has been ongoing for nearly 20 years, with contracts worth Rs 1,100 crore awarded over this period. A preliminary inquiry revealed that 18 contractors have been engaged at different stages. Three BMC assistant engineers and the directors of other entities were earlier named by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for alleged conspiracy. They are charged under sections 406, 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC for criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating and conspiracy.
Officials allege that the accused conspired to secure contracts using forged documents, causing substantial financial losses to the civic authority. The SIT is working with the BMC and MMRDA to verify detailed contract records. Of the total desilting stretch, the BMC oversees 11.84 km from Powai to Kurla, while the MMRDA handles the remaining 6.8 km.
The investigation began after political leaders raised concerns in the Maharashtra Legislative Council last in August, demanding a probe into the alleged irregularities.
Police said the inquiry is ongoing and more arrests were likely in the case.
