BJP, Congress MLCs Demand MCOCA Against Accused In ₹1,000 Crore Mithi River Desilting Scam

Mumbai: Several legislative council members from the BJP on Thursday vociferously demanded that the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) be invoked against the accused in the multi-crore Mithi river desilting scam. Congress' Bhai Jagtap too joined the chorus.

The issue was raised by BJP members Rajhans Singh, Pravin Darekar, Prasad Lad and others through a calling attention motion. The accused’s properties should also be sealed, Lad sought, asserting that the scam might run into Rs1,000 crore. Minister Uday Samant said that a discussion in this regard would be held with the CM because the powers rest with the home department under him.

Some of the accused are involved in running a chain of hotels as well as nightclubs and restaurants, Samant said. Investigators have examined 3.44 lakh photographs of silt transportation, however, the visuals showing muck was not available. The question is where 16.7 lakh metric tonnes of silt was dumped