BMC sweeper scam: Two more arrests made

Crime Branch officials investigating the BMC sweeper scam, which mid-day exposed in a front page report dated November 7, have made fresh arrests in the case, nabbing two more agents who were about to land themselves a job with the D ward through the recruitment scam.

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These accused have also been helping others get recruited. mid-day had shed light on the scam, in which existing civic employees had landed jobs by impersonating as kin of dead or retired staffers in lieu of bribes, cheating legitimate kin of the chance to earn their livelihood.

A high-level inquiry was ordered into the scam two weeks ago. According to police officials, the two accused have been identified as Vishal Kishor Parmar (34) and Himmat Vasurbai Dafda (38), residents of Tardeo. They had recently started working as agents.

An officer from Crime Branch Unit 3, requesting anonymity, said, "Parmar was previously working under another accused, Kunal Jogadia while Dafda was working under Vinjuda, so after getting a grip of how the system worked, the two started their own business."

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The cops allege that, as the duo had become rivals in the business, Jogadia and Vinjuda tipped the police about their involvement. "Parmar and Dafda had even applied for jobs for themselves," added the officer. Since the time mid-day exposed the scam, Crime Branch officials have arrested nine accused, including four BMC employees and five agents. The investigators have ascertained that around 50 people are employed with D ward through this scam.