Mithi River Desilting Scam: ED Raids Multiple Locations in Mumbai Amid ₹65 Cr Fraud Revelation

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at multiple locations across Mumbai in connection with the alleged ₹65 crore Mithi River desilting scam, signaling a major crackdown on corruption in civic contracts related to the city's monsoon preparedness efforts.

The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into suspected financial irregularities and large-scale corruption in the river cleaning project, which has long faced scrutiny over its efficacy and transparency.

The ED’s intensified action follows the Mumbai Sessions Court’s decision to grant bail to Jay Joshi, a representative of Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, who was earlier arrested in the same case. His bail had been rejected by a magistrate court on May 22, citing the preliminary nature of the investigation. While Joshi is now out on bail, the detailed order from the sessions court is awaited.

Parallel investigations by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police have uncovered a ₹65 crore fraud involving Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) engineer Prashant Ramugade, who is alleged to be the mastermind.

Officials say Ramugade covertly partnered with contractor Bhupendra Purohit, the owner of Group One Solutions, the firm awarded contracts for maintaining desilting machinery. To conceal their collaboration, proxies were used — Ramugade’s associate Sarika Kamdar and Purohit’s wife Kiran — while the two men allegedly ran the operations and siphoned public funds.

In one of the most shocking revelations, the investigation revealed that dump trucks meant for desilting the Mithi River were instead used to transport construction debris for private builders. A thin layer of river sludge was reportedly placed on top of the debris to make the operations appear legitimate. Investigators believe little to no actual desilting was carried out, despite inflated bills being submitted to the BMC for payment.

Further scrutiny has revealed that BMC tenders were allegedly rigged to consistently favor four firms linked to Purohit — Tridev, Tanisha, MB Brothers, and DB. Tender conditions were reportedly manipulated to ensure only these companies qualified for public works contracts.

The Enforcement Directorate is now closely examining the financial trail to establish the extent of public fund misappropriation and the possible involvement of other civic officials. The case underscores the urgent need for systemic reforms in how municipal contracts are awarded and monitored, especially in projects critical to Mumbai’s flood prevention strategy.

The probe is ongoing, and more arrests and revelations are expected in the coming days.