ED summons for Amol Kirtikar | 9 am: Named as candidate; 10 am: ED comes calling

Hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) announced Amol Kirtikar as its candidate from the North West Mumbai constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sprang into action and issued him a summons in connection with the Khichdi scam. Amol is the son of Gajanan Kirtikar, a member of Parliament from Shiv Sena (Shinde faction).

Kirtikar's lawyer, Dilip Satle, appeared before the agency on Wednesday afternoon and requested time to appear before them. Amol's name surfaced during the investigation of the Khichdi scam, which involved a food supply contract for migrant workers during the pandemic. This investigation is being conducted by the EOW of Mumbai police, while the ED is probing the money laundering aspect of the case. The EOW has discovered that Amol assisted Force One (a company accused in the case) in obtaining contracts and received approximately Rs 85 lakh, which is currently under investigation. However, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that Kirtikar received kickbacks of Rs 1.65 crore in the scam. Somaiya was the one who filed the initial complaint about the case with the city police.

The Khichdi scam came to light in 2020-21 during the tenure of MVA government

The Khichdi scam came to light in 2020-21 during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, with Uddhav Thackeray serving as the chief minister. The EOW has registered numerous cases of scams during the pandemic, and the Khichdi scam is among them. The EOW had registered an FIR for alleged misappropriation of R6.37 crore and financial irregularities related to BMC's contract for distributing khichdi to migrant workers during the pandemic. The FIR - registered at the Agripada police station - names Sujit Patkar, who is a close associate of Sanjay Raut; Sunil alias Bala Kadam; Rajeev Salunkhe of Sahyadri Refreshments; employees of Force One Multi Services; Sneha Caterers' partners; and an assistant municipal commissioner (planning), along with other unidentified BMC officials. The ED has already interrogated Suraj Chavan, who is said to be a close aide of Aaditya Thackeray.

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said, "The moment his name was announced as a Lok Sabha election candidate, he got a summon from ED. This is only an attempt to scare, but we won't be scared."

Rs 85L
Approx. amount Kirtikar allegedly received

Rs 6.37 crore
Worth of khichdi scam as per the FIR registered by EOW