Dino Morea questioned by Mumbai EOW in Mithi River Desilting contracts case

Actor Dino Morea was questioned by the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday (October 2, 2026) in connection with a case involving contracts for desilting the Mithi River, according to an agency document.

Mr Morea arrived at the EOW office at 1.30 p.m. and joined the probe, the document added. An officer confirmed the questioning and said Mr. Morea was called to verify facts that came up during the probe.

The EOW has arrested three people in connection with the case, which relates to contracts awarded by the BMC for desilting the Mithi River. Investigators have alleged irregularities in equipment hiring rates and the contracting process.

The document added that Mr. Morea was questioned twice in May. Investigators found transactions between Mr. Morea and Ketan Kadam, one of the accused in the case, between 2019 and 2022.

Santino Rocco Morea, a relative of Mr. Morea, and Punita Kadam, wife of Kadam, were directors of UBO Ridez Private Limited. The company operates carriages that run on electricity in Mumbai. Santino was also questioned by the EOW.

Mr. Kadam owns Woder India LLP and is CEO of Virgo Specialties. He was arrested on May 7 along with Jayesh Joshi, who was associated with Virgo Specialties. They were among 13 people booked in a case involving a loss of ₹65.54 crore to the BMC.

In August, the EOW also arrested Shersingh Rathod, a contractor based in Borivali. Investigators said he submitted photographs and videos to show silt removal from the river. His firm, Maideep Enterprises, submitted bills worth ₹29.63 crore, and BMC officials cleared them.

According to the EOW, BMC officials went to Kochi in October 2020 to get desilting equipment from Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd. Specifications in tenders that followed matched machines from Matprop, requiring contractors to use its equipment.

Investigators said contractors who approached Matprop were directed to Mr. Kadam and Mr. Joshi. Mr. Kadam and Mr. Joshi rented out the equipment at rates that investigators said exceeded rates in the market. The EOW is also probing how Woder India LLP got contracts from the BMC.

The probe into Mr. Rathod began when investigators examined contractors who were awarded work under the desilting tenders. His firm was among five contractors awarded desilting work in 2021-22.

Investigators found that trucks shown in photographs and videos as carrying silt had carried debris from buildings, an official said.

“Rathod later produced agreements with landowners in Bhiwandi and Panvel for dumping silt. The landowners denied knowing Rathod and told investigators that the documents and their signatures were not theirs,” officials said.

In one case, an agreement dated April 2021 was in the name of a landowner who had died three months before, an officer said.

The EOW said Mr. Rathod used documents with signatures that landowners said were not theirs and submitted bills worth ₹29.63 crore in the name of Maideep Enterprises. BMC officials cleared the bills.

After questioning, Mr. Morea was allowed to leave. The EOW said he may be summoned again for questioning and other legal procedures, if required.