Mithi river desilting scam: Prima facie no material against accused Joshi: court in bail order

Joshi, the owner of Virgo Specialities, was arrested last month by the Mumbai police, which claimed that he and co-accused Ketan Kadam were middlemen who used their influence to interfere with the tender process, compelling the contractors to hire machines on rent from a firm linked to them for desilting work.

The court said the documents before it showed that Kadam was appointed as CEO of Virgo and the signatory on its behalf to sign agreements for the hiring of the machines. It said that the statement of contractors also showed that Kadam was dealing with them regarding the hiring of the machines at a high rent.

“Thus, the material on record shows that instead of the applicant (Joshi), Ketan Kadam dealt with the transactions on behalf of M/s. Virgo Specialities Pvt. Ltd. Hence, prima facie it appears that there is no material showing that the applicant had compelled contractors/bidders to hire the machines on rent and caused wrongful loss to BMC,” the court said, adding that there is no material to show his involvement in forgery as alleged.

The court also noted that Joshi’s family was not informed in writing about his arrest by the investigation officers. Kadam is yet to file for bail.

Two other BMC officials who have sought pre-arrest bail pleas have received interim protection till their applications are decided by the court.