ED grills actor Dino Morea in Mithi River desilting case

EOW sources said there are five to seven monetary transactions worth Rs 14-18 lakh between Morea and Kadam, one of the two middlemen and a key accused in the scam. The SIT’s probe is revolving around these transactions, prompting investigators to question the actor. The central agency may summon him again for a second round of questioning, hinted sources.

The EOW booked the 13 people for allegedly causing wrongful loss to the civic body worth more than Rs 65.54 crore. Based on the EOW’s predicate offence, the ED last month registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) and began a money laundering investigation.

The ED last week conducted a massive search in Mumbai and Kochi in Kerala. The searches were held at more than 15 locations, including the houses and offices of 13 Brihanmumbai Corporation (BMC) officers, contractors, and middlemen named as accused in the FIR the EOW filed last month. Searches were also held at the Bandra (West) residence of Morea. After the searches, the agency summoned Morea and his brother to join the probe.

Sources said the central agency, before initiating any major action, has already begun investigating the properties acquired by the accused during the scam period and the source of the money used to acquire those properties. During the initial inquiry, crucial findings emerged, prompting the agency to conduct search operations.

Desilting work contracts worth nearly Rs 1,100 crore are under the scanner. The Mithi River is an 18.64-km seasonal river that runs alongside residential slum pockets and industrial areas. It serves as a natural stormwater drainage channel for Mumbai, carrying excess water during the monsoon season. But, over the years, it has been used by residents to dump garbage, sewage, and industrial waste, polluting it to a significant level.

After the 2005 Mumbai floods, the authorities realised the issues with the Mithi River, and the government put in efforts to clean the sludge from the riverbed to ensure uninterrupted water flow. It has been alleged that massive corruption occurred in the desilting work sanctioned and carried out by the BMC.

An initial inquiry by the police revealed that various financial irregularities occurred in contracts for desilting the river between 2021-22 and 2022-23. These irregularities were related to the transportation of sludge and its dumping on the ground. Later, the EOW found that the contractors had submitted nine fake memoranda of understanding (MoUs). The accused BMC officers allegedly misused their positions for wrongful financial gain.

The SIT under EOW has already arrested two middlemen – Ketan Kadam and Jay Joshi – in the case. Joshi is the owner of Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, and Kadam is from Vodar India LLP.

Joshi has secured bail in the matter, while two named serving BMC officers and one retired civic official have moved the court seeking anticipatory bail.