The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested two top bureaucrats, former Maharashtra information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari and former municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak on Tuesday for their alleged role in the Adarsh Housing society scam. The arrest was made at around 6 pm and both the accused will be produced in the sessions court on Wednesday. A total of nine persons have been arrested in the case so far.
The Maharashtra government, pending further investigations had suspended Phatak and another serving IAS officer Pradeep Vyas after their name surfaced amongst the other suspected government officials when the scam came to light. According to the FIR filed on January 29, Pathak, during his tenure as the BMC commissioner allegedly approved the height of the Adarsh building to be increased to 107 meters from 97 meters on September 1, 2007 without the mandatory approval from the High-Rise Committee. In a quid pro quo arrangement, his son Kanishk Phatak owns a flat in the society. Phatak is a 1978 batch IAS officer and one of the fourteen accused in the case.
Tiwari, a 1972 batch IAS officer allegedly allowed the transfer of the Floor Space Index (FSI) from a land belonging to the Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport (BEST) to the society. He is also accused of misguiding the MMRDA on various issues related to the disputed plot.