The Enforcement Directorate raided 14 premises in Mumbai and another outside the city on Wednesday in connection with the alleged Rs 38-crore jumbo Covid centre scam. While BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has claimed it is a Rs 100-crore scam, the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has pegged it at Rs 38 crore.
Premises Searched: The Chembur home of Suraj Chavan, a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray, and the Santacruz home of Sujit Patkar, a close aide of Sanjay Raut, another Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, is among the locations being searched by the ED. Sanjeev Jaiswal, an IAS officer and former additional municipal commissioner of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is currently the subject of a search warrant by the agency. Additionally being searched are Lifeline Hospital Management Services at Sasmira Marg, Worli, as well as the accused scam’s suppliers, contractors, and middlemen.
Case registration timeline: A case filed by Somaiya at the Azad Maidan police station in August of last year served as the foundation for the ED’s money-laundering probe into the alleged scheme involving the “jumbo” Covid clinics operated by the BMC. The case was turned up to the EOW in October 2022.
What is the actual case?
The BMC established field hospitals in Mumbai during the Covid epidemic. The BJP claims that contractors with ties to Shiv Sena officials but no prior expertise in the healthcare service industry were awarded contracts at excessive rates.
People named in the case: The Lifeline Hospital Management Services and its partners, Sujit Mukund Patkar, Dr Hemant Ramsharan Gupta, Sanjay Madanlal Shah, and Raju Nandkumar Salunkhe, are named in the August 24, 2022, FIR. A list of contracts and payments made to Lifeline Hospital Management Services, which the civic organisation hired to set up jumbo Covid clinics during the epidemic, was provided to the EOW in January.
Allegations Made: According to Somaiya’s police complaint, the accused company obtained the contract by using fake documents, including its partnership deed. He further claims that the business failed to disclose to the BMC that it had been prohibited from offering medical services by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
What are the police and ED probing?
The pre-bid meeting for the 100-bed mega facility at Dahisar, according to an earlier claim by Somaiya, was held on June 25, 2020, and the expression of interest was announced on June 27. On June 26, Lifeline Hospital Management Services was founded. Somaiya complained in a complaint he had made before a city court in March of last year. “Thus, even before the partnership firm came into existence, the accused attended a pre-bid meeting and secured the contract for operation and management of Covid ICU beds at Dahisar and was requested to mobilise manpower within seven days,” Somaiya stated. The investigation agencies are investigating the suspected anomalies in the BMC’s granting of contracts for medical staff and services. The EOW is probing the criminal aspect of the alleged scam while the ED is trying to track the money trail of the proceeds of the alleged crime.
People Arrested So Far: Rajiv Nandakumar Salunke, also known as Rajiv (48), and Sunil Bala Ramchandra Kadam, also known as Sunil (58), have both been taken into custody by the EOW so far. In Lifeline Hospital Management Services, Salunkhe is a partner. According to the EOW probe, Salunkhe’s bank account received a transfer of almost Rs 82 lakh to Kadam’s bank account. The company’s bank account also transferred funds worth Rs 87.31 lakh and Rs 45 lakh to Kadam’s bank account. When Kadam was asked about the Rs 87.31 lakh transaction, he claimed it was for the company but did not offer any proof. Similarly, when questioned about the transaction of Rs. 45 lakhs, he stated that it was utilised to cover the office’s rent. However, the landlord told the EOW that he had not received any money from Kadam.
People Questioned: Numerous BMC representatives, including municipal commissioner, IS Chahal, have been questioned by the EOW thus far. Ramesh Pawar, who was at the time the deputy municipal commissioner and joint municipal commissioner (improvement), was also questioned. Pawar was questioned about how the Patkar-led company was permitted to participate in the tendering despite having no prior experience in healthcare, according to EOW sources. In this situation, he is not a suspect.
