Mumbai, June 7: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actor Dino Morea and his brother Santino Morea for questioning in connection with an alleged multi-crore scam involving the desilting and cleaning of Mumbai's Mithi River. His name had reportedly surfaced in the call records of Ketan Kadam, one of the 13 accused in the scam.

The model-turned-actor has been directed to appear before the ED officials next week to record his statement.

The summons come a day after the agency conducted a nearly 14-hour-long search at Morea’s Bandra residence on Friday, as part of a broader probe into the Rs 65 crore desilting case.

In addition to Morea’s home, ED officials carried out simultaneous search operations at 14 other locations across Mumbai and Kochi.

The probe involves several senior officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), private contractors, and intermediaries allegedly involved in the scam.

On June 6, ED officers searched Morea’s villa in Bandra West, Mumbai, and questioned him extensively. Officials said the operation was linked to an alleged money laundering case tied to fake bills and fraudulent contracts for desilting operations.

According to sources, ED teams arrived early in the morning on Friday and secured the premises, restricting movement and seizing mobile devices. The searches were part of a larger investigation that included raids at 15 locations in Mumbai and Kerala.

Earlier, on May 26, Dino Morea had been questioned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police at the police headquarters.

His name had reportedly surfaced in the call records of Ketan Kadam, one of the 13 accused in the scam. The EOW had summoned Morea to clarify his alleged connections with Kadam, a contractor under scrutiny.

Investigators believe that Dino Morea’s phone number appearing in call data records of a key accused prompted deeper scrutiny into his possible role or knowledge of the irregularities.

The scam allegedly revolves around fake billing and fraudulent Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) submitted to the BMC to falsely claim completion of desilting work. Police say no physical desilting was conducted in several cases, leading to urban flooding during monsoons in areas near the river.

According to DCP (EOW) Sangramsingh Nishandar, the FIR in the case was initially registered at the Azad Maidan Police Station. It followed preliminary findings suggesting the use of forged bills and documents to siphon off public funds allocated for river cleaning.

“The FIR covers multiple aspects of the scam, including the creation of fake contracts, fraudulent dumping of silt at non-existent locations, and manipulation of official records,” Nishandar said.

Police investigations revealed that contractors submitted fake bills for transporting and dumping desilted material at nine locations. However, in several instances, landowners claimed they had never signed any agreements with the contractors. In fact, some landowners listed in the documents reportedly do not exist.

“There are major discrepancies in the MoUs submitted. Some documents mentioned landowners and dumping sites that were entirely fictitious,” Nishandar added.

The accused have been booked under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and conspiracy. If convicted, they could face up to seven years in prison.

Some of the companies currently under investigation include Acute Design, Kailash Construction, N.A. Construction, Nikhil Construction, and J.R.S Infrastructure. These firms are accused of submitting fake MoUs and falsely claiming completion of desilting operations.

Another significant revelation involves a company called Matprop, which conducted a field visit to the Mithi River in February 2020. Officials allege that, in collusion with BMC engineers, the company manipulated terms of the contract for personal and financial gain.

Key BMC officials named in the FIR include Prashant Ramugade, Assistant Engineer and Designated Officer in the Rainwater Drainage Department; and Ganesh Bendre, Deputy Chief Engineer (East Suburbs), along with others.

Private individuals and contractors named in the FIR include Jay Joshi of Virgo Specialities Pvt Ltd, Ketan Kadam of Vodar India LLP, Bhupendra Purohit, Deepak Mohan, and Kishore Menon.

In total, five contractors, three middlemen, two company officials, and three BMC officials have been booked in connection with the case. Police say the scam caused significant financial loss to the BMC.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case was formed after BJP leaders and Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs), Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lad, raised concerns about the desilting project during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The desilting initiative was part of a larger Rs 1,100 crore Mithi River beautification and flood mitigation project undertaken to improve the city’s drainage infrastructure.

(IANS)

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