Mumbai: The banking unit of EOW last week submitted a 500-page chargesheet against contractor Rahul Gomes, the proprietor of Oaks Management Consultancy, involved in manipulating the tendering process for the construction of Covid Jumbo Centre at Richardson & Crudas facility in Mulund, causing a loss of Rs 37 crore.Police have named former Cidco chief engineer Rajendra Dhyatkar in the chargesheet and are awaiting sanction from the govt to prosecute him. The chargesheet, filed before the 47th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court at Esplanade, highlights how the accused allegedly exploited emergency procurement relaxations introduced during the Covid-19 crisis to secure a govt contract worth over Rs 11.5 crore through fraudulent means.The chargesheet states Dhyatkar was aware that under the “force majeure” conditions declared by the Central Govt, authorities were permitted to award contracts without a full tender process. The probe revealed that three bids were submitted for the project, but two of them — purportedly from firms “Vovisto Event” and “Nitin Enterprises” — were found to be fake. Witnesses Shahaji Chile and Ajay Gole, in whose names the bids were submitted, told investigators they were employees of Gomes and had merely forwarded tender documents provided by him via email and WhatsApp.Statements of multiple witnesses, including employees and associates of Gomes, confirmed that these firms did not exist and that their addresses were bogus. Verification from the Registrar of Partnership Firms further established that neither entity was registered in Maharashtra.Investigators found that all three bids — including the lowest, or L-1, bid submitted by Gomes’ firm, M/s Oaks Management Consultancy Pvt Ltd — originated from the same source, effectively eliminating competition. Despite this, Dhyatkar allegedly approved the proposal on May 18, 2020, without conducting due diligence.The chargesheet states that a work order was issued the very next day, May 19, 2020, and subsequently, Cidco released payments amounting to over Rs 11.5 crore to Gomes’ firm based on invoices and completion certificates submitted by the accused.Bank records obtained during the investigation confirmed that the entire contract amount was credited to Gomes’ company account. The police allege that the funds were obtained through a “pre-planned and fraudulent tender process.”The investigation has ruled out any involvement of officials from the BMC, stating that the civic body only took over the facility after its construction, as per govt directives in July 2020.
