The Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has questioned 10 contractors and asked the BMC to provide CCTV footage uploaded on the civic portal of the debris removed as part of the Rs 1,100 crore Mithi River “desilting scam” probe.
The EOW’s investigation includes contracts awarded for desilting and beautification of the river, the terms and conditions of these agreements, verification of actual debris removal whether it was weighed, videographed, or photographed and examination of records from the BMC and MMRDA.
This is the sixth Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the EOW to investigate irregularities in civil contracts, with previous probes covering financial irregularities in the Khichdi scam, the COVID-19 center scam, the Lifeline Hospital scam, and the body bags scam.
Earlier in March, the police recorded the statements of six civic officials directly linked to the issuance of tenders and the disposal of extracted debris by contractors.
Investigators also conducted field inspections along a 17-km stretch of the Mithi River to gather crucial evidence, focusing on key areas, including Bandra and Kurla.
In August 2024, the State Legislative Council announced an SIT by the EOW to probe irregularities in the desilting of the Mithi River after BJP MLCs Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar raised concerns about the alleged scam.
The EOW SIT had summoned and questioned three contractors—Rishabh Jain, Manish Kasaliwala, and Shersingh Rathod—as part of the preliminary inquiry into the desilting scandal. The probe was later expanded to include civic officials over financial irregularities in tenders awarded for the desilting work.
The state government had decided to undertake the desilting and widening of the 17.8-km Mithi River following the July 2005 floods. Work on an 11.84-km stretch, from the river’s origin in Powai up to Kurla, was assigned to the BMC, while the remaining six km—from Kurla to Mahim Causeway—was allocated to the MMRDA.
