Contractor booked for cheating in toilet construction work

A contractor allegedly duped a private club here in Maharashtra of Rs 25 lakh in connection with the task given to it of constructing bio- toilets in the city, police said Wednesday.

Based on a complaint by the Rotary Club, the contractor was booked by the city police on Monday under IPC sections for cheating and forgery, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said.

The club had given a contract worth Rs 62.1 lakh to a contractor for construction of 270 bio-toilets in the city. It initially paid Rs 25.31 lakh to him for the work.

The contractor later claimed to have constructed 77 toilets and submitted a bill of Rs 21.06 lakh for it to the club, Narkar said.

However, when the club conducted an inspection, it found that work on only 27 toilets was completed, she said.

The club subsequently lodged a complaint against the contractor, she said, adding that a probe was underway in the case.