A court in Mumbai has refused to grant bail to Ketan Kadam, an alleged middleman and a company's CEO held in the Rs 65-crore Mithi river desilting contract scam in the metropolis, noting he has direct involvement in the crime.
Additional sessions judge NG Shukla rejected the bail plea of Kadam, dubbed a "mastermind" of the conspiracy linked to the scam, on October 14 and a detailed order was made available on Thursday (October 16).
This was the second time when Kadam was denied bail by the sessions court.
The alleged middleman moved a fresh bail plea after police filed a chargesheet in the case.
However, the court, while hearing the bail plea, observed, "It is a settled position of law that filing of the chargesheet would strengthen the allegations against the accused."
As per the prosecution, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had given contracts of desilting the Mithi River, which flows through Mumbai, at multiple sites to different companies by inviting tenders from 2019 to 2024.
It alleged that Kadam, chief executive officer of Virgo Specialties Pvt Ltd, conspired with BMC officials and contractors for inserting such terms and conditions for tender that compelled contractors to hire machines from his firm. -- PTI