New Delhi: The CBI has arrested one Surinder Mittal in a forgery case, where the accused had fabricated a letter, purported to be from the Prime Minister's Office in New Delhi in order to secure contracts in his name in Mumbai.
Officials here said that Mittal had in cahoots with Salim Shaikh, Secretary of Bandra East Ghausia Compound, Bandra (East) forged a letter and made it look like a Joint Secretary-level official had written to the Chief Minister's Office in Maharashtra about alleged corrupt practices by local body officials.
The CBI has alleged that Mittal and Shaikh had conspired to forge this letter and showed it to the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee Slum Rehabilitation Authority Mumbai, claiming that the contract for the development of a plot at the Ghausia Compound was being given to contractors close to local body officials.
The forged PMO letter was intended to show that New Delhi was on Mittals' side and that the contract be awarded to one Vilayati Ram Mittal of Navi Mumbai. However, the accused slipped up and referred to a second forged document in the PMO letter and officials of the PMO later confirmed to the CBI that no such letter had been dispatched from their side.
Mittal was produced before a Special CBI court in Mumbai on Wednesday itself for his custody hearing.