On Thursday, April 25, two key individuals were arrested by the Navi Mumbai crime branch in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) toilet contract scandal worth INR 7.61 crore. The accused are identified as Sanjay Pansare, 63, a former director of APMC, and Shivnath Wagh, a clerk.
The case is about the repair and maintenance of 11 restrooms in the APMC market area. Pansare reportedly approved a reduction in the monthly fee for the contractor managing the restrooms from INR 61,000 to INR 8000.
The scheme was brought to light on November 11, 2023, when Bhagwan Botre, 54, the special account inspector and sub-registrar of co-operative societies, lodged a formal complaint. Botre's complaint showed that the contract for the upkeep of the 11 restrooms was awarded between 2005 and 2017 without any formalities or invitations to tender.
An investigation is ongoing, and the involvement of each accused person is yet to be determined. Reports suggest that the accused together hired a company to manage the toilets in the market without adhering to protocol.
The police are currently searching for eight more accused parties in this case. It is alleged that the accused selected a certain company and won the tender for personal gain.
In November and December, APMC sanitation inspectors Sidram Nagorao Katdhond, 57; Suresh Maru, 46 (contractor); and Manesh Vishwanath Patil, 44 (transporter and water provider), were detained. Shashikant Shinde is the only person to have received bail from the High Court.
The Belapur Court denied the request for anticipatory bail for the remaining seven applicants. As of April 22, the police are searching for them. Wagh and the former director have been placed under police detention until Friday.
Share
Tweet
