Kirit Somaiya slams Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena party over Mumbai Covid centre scam

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Mumbai: On Tuesday, Kirit Somaiya, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party, attacked the Shiv Sena party, led by Uddhav Thackeray, over the Mumbai COVID center scandal.

BJP chief Kirit Somaiya wrote on X, “Uddhav Thackeray Sena ki COVID ki Kamai.” Sujit Patkar, Sanjay Raut’s partner, had his bail denied by the court in the Rs 34 crore BMC COVID center scandal. On July 19, 2023, the ED took him into custody.

Notably, Sujit Patkar’s bail request was denied by a Mumbai special court on Monday. On July 19, 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Patkar and another suspect, Kishore Bisure, in relation to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Rs 34 crore COVID center fraud.

According to ED sources, the ED searched 15 addresses in Mumbai in June 2023 in relation to the suspected BMC Covid center corruption investigation and confiscated cash and documents from assets valued at crores.

The residences of IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal and Yuva Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) core committee member Suraj Chavan were also raided by the ED.

According to the ED source, the scam’s mastermind is Sujit Patkar. The contract to operate a COVID-19 jumbo center in Worli was given to Lifeline Hospital Management Services, of which he is one of the four partners. According to the ED, Patkar was a key player in the alleged Rs 22 crore in money laundering using shell corporations.

During the operation, the ED found Rs 68.65 lakh in cash. Documents pertaining to 50 real estate assets spread throughout Maharashtra, with a combined market value over Rs 150 crore, as well as investments and fixed deposits totaling Rs 15 crore and jewelry valued at Rs 2.46 crore, have also been retrieved.

The sources claim that in addition to several damning papers, ED also confiscated a number of computers and cell phones. According to the investigation, one firm was paying another company Rs 2,000 to provide body bags for deceased COVID-19 patients.

According to the ED sources, the business was paying Rs 6,800 to the Central Procurement Department for the identical corpse bags, and the then-BMC mayor signed the deal.