Businessman Sujit Patkar, a close friend of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, was arrested by the Financial Offenses Wing of Mumbai Police on Thursday in connection with the Covid scam case. After this he was presented in the Magistrate Court of Mumbai. The court has sent him to police custody for 5 days. Sujit Patkar was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of money laundering in the same case and was in judicial custody.
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had filed an original complaint with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the alleged scam in running jumbo COVID-19 centres. Acting on that, the ED had earlier arrested Sujit Patkar. Another doctor was also arrested along with him. However, later both got bail from the court.
Sujit Patkar was in charge of Lifeline Jumbo Covid Center during the Covid period. This is the fourth arrest in the case by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police. The EOW is probing alleged irregularities in setting up and management of Jumbo Covid Care Centers of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The official said that the EOW also found that the documents submitted for the contract for the Covid centers in Dahisar and Worli were forged. Last week, the sessions court had rejected Patkar’s pre-arrest bail plea in the EOW case. Thereafter, Patkar was brought to the agency’s office on Thursday and arrested after questioning, the official said.