The Rs 352-crore road scam exposed in an investigation by the civic body earlier this year, and in which 26 arrests have been made so far, seems to have foxed the Mumbai police. They have now decided to reach out to experts from IIT-Bombay for help
The road outside Oberoi mall in Goregaon (E) is a mess. File pic
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The Rs 352-crore road scam exposed in an investigation by the civic body earlier this year, and in which 26 arrests have been made so far, seems to have foxed the Mumbai police. They have now decided to reach out to experts from IIT-Bombay for help.
A senior official monitoring the investigation into the scam admitted that the police had never before handled a case such as this. “When it comes to corruption in road construction and repair, too many technical aspects need probing, and accordingly, evidence needs to be collected,” a senior police officer said.
mid-day, in its July 13 edition, had exposed the identities of the six contractors who were specifically responsible for the scam. They are among the 26 against whom FIRs have been lodged in the case, including three senior BMC engineers.
A Special Investigating Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case and deputy commissioner of police (DCP, Zone 1) Manoj Sharma is monitoring the probe on a daily basis. Despite repeated attempts, Sharma was not available for comment.
‘Correct to seek help’
Independent experts have welcomed the police move to seek the help of IITians in the scam investigation. YP Singh, IPS (retired)-turned-lawyer, said, “Was the contract awarded illegally, and who are the people who have taken bribes are things that the police will investigate. But, when it comes to technical matters such as server data, quality of material used for construction or repair of roads, the police may not have the said expertise. So authorities may have approached IIT for assistance.”
The case so far
In September, last year, BMC chief Ajoy Mehta had ordered a probe into shoddy road work carried out in the city that responsible for all-year-through potholes. In February this year, Mumbai mayor Snehal Ambekar wrote to the civic chief, complaining about the poor quality of several newly constructed roads. On April 27, an offence was registered with the Azad Maidan police after the civic body's inquiry into the state of 34 roads revealed several irregularities.
A case under sections 420 (cheating), 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) and 197 (issuing or signing false certificate) of the IPC was filed.
The BMC filed an FIR and named six firms — R K Madhani, J Kumar, Mahavir Infrastructure, RPS Infraprojects and KR constructions.
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