Has the ED Summoned Actor Dino Morea Over Mithi River Desilting Scam?

Mumbai, June 7 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actor Dino Morea and his brother Santino Morea for questioning related to an alleged multi-crore scam concerning the desilting and cleanup of Mumbai's Mithi River. His name reportedly emerged in the call records of Ketan Kadam, one of the thirteen accused in the case.

The model-turned-actor has been instructed to present himself before ED officials next week to provide his statement.

This summons follows a nearly 14-hour-long search conducted by the agency at Morea’s residence in Bandra on Friday, which is part of a wider investigation into the Rs 65 crore desilting case.

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

The investigation implicates several senior officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), private contractors, and intermediaries allegedly involved in the scam.

On June 6, ED officials searched Morea’s villa in Bandra West, Mumbai, and interrogated him extensively. Officials indicated that the operation is connected to an alleged money laundering case involving fake invoices and fraudulent contracts for desilting operations.

Sources reveal that ED teams arrived early on Friday, securing the premises, restricting movement, and seizing mobile devices. The searches were part of a broader investigation that included raids at fifteen locations in Mumbai and Kerala.

Previously, on May 26, Dino Morea was interrogated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police at their headquarters.

His name surfaced in the call records of Ketan Kadam, a contractor under investigation. The EOW summoned Morea to clarify his alleged connections with Kadam.

Investigators suspect that Dino Morea’s phone number appearing in the call data records of a key accused warranted deeper scrutiny into his possible involvement or awareness of the irregularities.

The scam centers around fake billing and fraudulent Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) submitted to the BMC to falsely claim the completion of desilting work. Police assert that no physical desilting occurred in numerous instances, resulting in urban flooding during monsoons in areas adjacent to the river.

As per DCP (EOW) Sangramsingh Nishandar, the FIR in this case was initially filed at the Azad Maidan Police Station, following preliminary findings suggesting the use of forged documents to misappropriate public funds allocated for river cleaning.

“The FIR encompasses 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 stated.

Investigations unveiled that contractors submitted fake bills for transporting and dumping desilted material at nine locations. However, several landowners reported that they had never entered into any agreements with the contractors. In fact, some landowners mentioned in the documents allegedly do not exist.

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

The accused face charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and conspiracy. If convicted, they risk imprisonment of up to seven years.

Several 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 asserting the completion of desilting operations.

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

Key BMC officials named in the FIR include Prashant Ramugade, Assistant Engineer, and Ganesh Bendre, Deputy Chief Engineer (East Suburbs), among others.

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

In total, five contractors, three middlemen, two company officials, and three BMC officials have been implicated in this case. Police report that the scam has led to substantial financial losses for the BMC.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) assigned to the case was formed after members of the BJP, including Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lad, expressed concerns regarding the desilting project during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The desilting initiative is part of a larger Rs 1,100 crore Mithi River beautification and flood mitigation project aimed at enhancing the city’s drainage infrastructure.