The Jawhar division of Maharashtra’s Public Works Department is facing a criminal investigation over the alleged diversion of Rs 73,13,884 through altered records and documents, after payments meant for works awarded in the names of educated unemployed engineers were reportedly transferred to a contractor’s account.
The alleged irregularity concerns seven works awarded under contract numbers 331, 332, 334, 335, 336, 337 and 344 in the department’s B-1 register for 2014-15. According to details cited in a police communication to the Public Works Department, the payments were made on 31 March 2019 after entries in the online cashbook and physical cashbook, as well as related documents, were allegedly modified to show “M/s Jijau Construction, Vikramgad” as the recipient instead of the original contractors.
The matter came under scrutiny after a complaint sought an investigation into alleged corruption involving Jijau Construction, Jijau Road Builder Pvt Ltd and Ovi Construction Company under the Public Works Department’s Thane Circle. Vikramgad MLA Harishchandra Bhoye has reportedly requested that the Maharashtra government appoint a Special Investigation Team to examine the alleged irregularities, according to the report.
The complaint was assigned for inquiry to Assistant Police Inspector Malhar Thorat of the Palghar police. The inquiry report reportedly recorded that the amount was transferred after changes were made to payment records and supporting documents. The report also said that the disputed amount was later deposited back into the government account after the irregularity came to light.
The repayment has not closed the matter. The Palghar superintendent of police instructed that a criminal case be registered, but the process remains pending under the stated requirement of an opinion from the superintendent engineer in Thane. The police communication reportedly conveyed this position to the Public Works Department.
The case raises questions about how payments under public works contracts are recorded, checked and authorised, particularly when work orders are issued in the names of eligible individual engineers but payment records later identify a private construction firm. The supplied report does not establish whether the listed works were completed, who authorised the changes, or whether the alleged diversion involved officials, contractors or other parties.
The reported transactions date back to 2019, while the present action follows a police inquiry into the complaint and the recovery of the money. The next formal step is the registration of the FIR ordered by the superintendent of police, subject to the pending departmental opinion. Any further determination of responsibility will depend on the criminal investigation and supporting records.
