BMC Covid scam: ED conducts raids at Aaditya Thackeray's close aide, 15 locations in Mumbai
1 min read 21 Jun 2023, 02:44 PM ISTAccording to the officials, the raids were conducted at locations of some officials of the BMC and other people, including IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, in connection with the COVID-19 hospital management contracts.
PremiumThe Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at 15 locations in Mumbai on 21 June in connection with a money laundering case against businessman Sujit Patkar, Suraj Chavan, and others who are close associates of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray.
According to the officials, the raids were conducted at locations of some officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other people, including IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, in connection with the COVID-19 hospital management contracts.
The officials claim that the Patkar and his his three partners allegedly bagged Mumbai civic body contracts fraudulently for managing COVID-19 field hospitals during the pandemic.
Earlier in August 2022, the Azad Maidan police station registered a forgery case against Lifeline Hospital Management Services firm, Patkar and his three partners.
The ED, based on the FIR, registered a case to investigate the money laundering angle.
It is to be known that in January BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal appeared before the ED in connection with the alleged irregularities in award of contracts for the health facilities during the pandemic.
According to the FIR registered by the Azad Maidan police, in June 2020, the hospital management firm partners 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.
Following the 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 agency inputs.