BMC Covid scam: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched the premises of businessman Sujit Patkar, Suraj Chavan and others allegedly close aides of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut in connection with a money laundering case. According to the officials, the federal agency is conducting raids at more than 15 locations of a few Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officers including Sanjeev Jaiswal, suppliers and IAS officers in Mumbai, in connection with the alleged BMC Covid scam.
The officials claim that Patkar and his three partners allegedly bagged Mumbai civic body contracts fraudulently for managing COVID-19 field hospitals during the pandemic. The Azad Maidan police station here registered a forgery case against Lifeline Hospital Management Services firm, Patkar and his three partners in August last year.
Based on the FIR, the ED had registered a case to investigate the money laundering angle, the official said. BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal appeared before the ED in January this year in connection with alleged irregularities in the award of contracts for health facilities during the pandemic.
As per the FIR registered by the Azad Maidan police, the hospital management firm partners in June 2020 submitted an alleged fake partnership deed to the BMC and obtained contracts of jumbo COVID-19 centres at NSEL, Worli, Mulund, Dahisar (in Mumbai) and Pune without having any experience in the medical field.
After verification it was found that staffers and doctors at these COVID-19 centres did not have medical certificates and allegedly failed to provide proper treatment due to which people suffered, the FIR said.
(With agencies input)
