MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police on Monday questioned Bollywood actor Dino Morea and his younger brother Santino in connection with alleged irregularities in the award and execution of contracts to desilt the Mithi river.
“We have been questioning the Morea brothers since 11 am,” EOW deputy commissioner of police Sangramsing Nishandar said. He declined to comment on the developments, insisting that the investigations were at a very preliminary stage.
A second police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Morea brothers were summoned after investigators came across phone records indicating they had been in contact with some people linked to the case.
Also, the officer added, Santino Rocco Morea and Punita Ketan Kadam, wife of one of the accused, were directors in a private company UBO Ridez Private Limited.
The questioning of the Morea brothers comes weeks after the EOW on May 6 registered a case against 13 people, including three civic officials, for allegedly causing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) a loss of ₹65.54 crore in connection with the Mithi river desilting project. The agency alleged that silt and debris were not removed from several places, inflated rates were charged for removing the silt, and no audit of the desilting work was carried out.
The following day, Ketan Kadam, 50, director of Woder India LLP, a Mumbai-based company that provides desilting services; and Jayesh Joshi, 49, who is associated with Virgo Specialities Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based industrial product manufacturer, were arrested.
According to EOW, some BMC officials travelled to Kochi in October 2020 to buy desilting equipment from Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd and subsequently floated tenders inviting bids for desilting.
But the specification of the machines matched Matprop’s equipment which would force contractors to use its machines. Also, the tender said BMC would pay contractors according to the weight of the silt and dredge removed from the river.
When Mumbai contractors approached Matprop, they were directed to approach Jayesh Joshi and Ketan Kadam, who, in connivance with the company, did not sell the equipment but rented it at inflated rates, said the police.
The investigation in the case was started last year when EOW set up a special investigation team in August 2024 after BJP leaders Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar raised questions in the state legislative council about alleged irregularities in desilting the 17.84-km-long river.
According to EOW officers, the civic body continued to fudge records to increase the amount of silt to be removed from the Mithi river to benefit the contractors and the rates that they were supposed to be paid.