Engineer, dam contractor’s two partners in police custody in Balganga scam

THANE: The Thane sessions court on Friday remanded Vijay Kasat, a sectional engineer in the irrigation department, and Abed Khatri and Zahid Khatri—partners at FA Enterprises—in police custody in the Balganga dam scam case.
Kasat was sent to police custody until Wednesday, while the FA Enterprises partners will be in custody until Tuesday.
Investigation officer Sunil Kalgutkar, in his remand report, said that the ACB had been unable to procure any original documents related to the project in question.In a written reply, the Konkan Irrigation Development Corporation officials had informed the ACB that the documents could not be obtained from Kasat and Rajesh Rithe, another irrigation department official. The ACB too had tried to obtain the documents from Rithe but had drawn a blank and hence wanted to try getting them from Kasat.
Opposing the remand request for Kasat, defence counsel Shailesh Sadekar told the court that a dam project of this magnitude would not have been possible without “ministerial sanction”.
Sadekar questioned why they (ministers) were not named as accused in the scam in the FIR or arrested. He added that the ACB was catching only the “small fish”.
The counsel also said that Kasat had no powers and the higher-ups took decisions and issued directions, which were followed by the staff.
Public prosecutor Sanjay Londhe brought to record that FA Enterprises was cleared for the project despite the firm’s turnover being just Rs 16 crore. The contractor had allegedly forged a certificate to show the turnover as Rs 125 crore. However, the CA whose signature is affixed on document has disowned it.
Londhe said that the entire case rests on vital documents and the ACB needs to verify the same. Also, the owners
of FA Constructions—Fateh Mohammad Abdulla Khatri and his wife Jaitun Fateh
Mohammad Khatri—have moved court for anticipatory bail.