Mumbai COVID-19 field hospital scam: ED raids Thackeray's, Raut's aides
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided 15 locations in Mumbai and surrounding areas in an alleged money laundering case linked to the COVID-19 field hospital scam case. The case is reportedly registered against Sujit Patkar, a close aide of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut. Patkar and his three partners allegedly bagged contracts fraudulently for managing field hospitals during the pandemic.
Why does this story matter?
The ED arrested Raut last year in the alleged Patra Chawl land scam, which the Sena (UBT) called a conspiracy by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to harass political rivals. Notably, the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which oversaw the handling of the pandemic, was toppled after Eknath Shinde, the current chief minister of Maharashtra, joined hands with the BJP.
Residence of officials also raided
The raids were also conducted at the premises of IAS Sanjeev Jaiswal and Yuva Sena (UBT) secretary Suraj Chavan, a close aide of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray. The ED case is based on a case of forgery lodged at Mumbai's Azad Maidan Police Station against Lifeline Hospital Management Services, Patkar, and his three partners in August 2022.
What is the case about?
In January, the ED recorded the statement of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. He said when COVID-19 cases began to rise, the BMC had just 4,000 beds, and the World Health Organization (WHO) advised to arrange more beds. Following this, the state government issued orders to create field hospitals, and subsequently, Jumbo hospitals were reportedly created with thousands of beds.
Received thousands of tenders, couldn't detect forgery: BMC commissioner
Chahal said the Mumbai Police received a complaint regarding field hospitals. "We told the Mumbai Police that since we received thousands of tenders, we could not detect forgery. Thereafter, we received ED summons, wherein I provided them with all the information," he said.
What did police complaint say?
Patkar and his partners allegedly used forged documents for the allotment of COVID-19 field hospitals in Mumbai and Pune. The complaint stated that Patkar's firm had no prior experience in running hospitals. During a search at Patkar's residence, officials found a document of agreement between Patkar and the BMC for the management of field hospitals. For this, Patkar's firm allegedly received Rs. 38 crore.
Patkar allegedly outsourced work to doctor
After receiving the contract, Patkar allegedly handed over the work to a doctor and signed an agreement for the management of the field hospitals in his company's name, which is reportedly not registered with the authorities.
