Mumbai, Dec 11 (NationPress) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has apprehended two additional contractors in connection with the alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi River desilting scandal, raising the total number of arrests in this case to five, as reported by the Mumbai Police.

The arrested parties have been named as Sunil Upadhaya (54) and Mahesh Purohit (48). Investigators claim that these individuals procured desilting work orders through fraudulent Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs).

The Mumbai Police disclosed that the two contractors were presented before the Esplanade Court earlier today and have been placed in police custody until December 16 for in-depth interrogation.

The authorities informed the court that custodial questioning is essential to scrutinize the documents used for securing the contracts, financial transactions related to the purportedly fraudulent work orders, and the network of individuals involved.

This alleged scam is associated with desilting operations for the Mithi River, which serves as a vital flood-control channel traversing various areas of Mumbai. Initial investigations suggest that multiple contractors may have submitted forged MOUs, false capacity claims, or altered project documentation to obtain desilting tenders, while the physical work either fell short of standards or was not performed according to authorized guidelines.

Previously, three other suspects were detained in relation to this matter. With the recent arrests of Upadhaya and Purohit, authorities are broadening their inquiry into the tendering process, the approval chain, and potential collusion among contractors.

In a significant move, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on August 2 that it had frozen assets exceeding Rs 47 crore during follow-up raids across Mumbai related to the Mithi River Desilting Scam.

The search operations, conducted on July 31 by the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office, targeted eight locations associated with BMC contractors and a civic engineer.

The agency's searches included premises of contractors such as M/s Acute Designs, M/s Kailash Construction Company, M/s Nikhil Construction Co, M/s N A Construction Pvt Ltd, M/s J.R.S Infrastructure, along with BMC engineer Prashant Krishna Tayshete.

This operation resulted in the freezing of over Rs 47 crore held in various bank accounts, fixed deposits, and demat accounts.

During these raids, officials also confiscated digital devices, property-related documents, and other incriminating evidence deemed vital for the ongoing investigation.

The case originated from an FIR lodged at Azad Maidan Police Station, which alleges that 13 individuals and entities—including the aforementioned contractors and BMC officials—have caused a loss of Rs 65 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The ED has asserted that preliminary evidence suggests widespread irregularities in the desilting operations of the Mithi River.

Contractors are accused of submitting falsified documents, including fake MoUs with landowners and No-Objection Certificates from Gram Panchayats for silt disposal sites.

Moreover, investigators discovered that civic officials exploited their positions for personal benefit, particularly in the procurement and use of silt pushers and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines introduced in BMC tenders during 2021-22.

Previously, on June 6, the agency had conducted raids at 18 locations in connection with this same case. With the latest actions, the total amount of crime proceeds frozen or seized has escalated to Rs 49.8 crore.