20 July,2023 04:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sujit Patkar in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Covid Center scam case.
As per the ED officials, Sujit Patkar, who is a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut and a civic doctor Kishore Bisure have been arrested.
They will be produced in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court later today.
Earlier, in June, ED raided 15 locations in Mumbai in connection with the case and seized cash and documents of properties worth crores.
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The ED source said that Patkar is the kingpin of the scam. "He is one of the four partners of Lifeline Hospital Management Services that was awarded the contract to run a Covid-19 jumbo centre in Worli" said the ED sources.
The ED said that Rs 22 crore was allegedly laundered via shell companies for which Patkar played an instrumental role.
ED had seized Rs 68.65 lakh in cash during the raid. Documents of 50 immovable properties located at various places in Maharashtra with a market value of more than Rs 150 crore, fixed deposits and investments worth Rs 15 crore and jewelery worth Rs 2.46 crore have also been recovered.
"The search revealed that one company was giving body bags for dead COVID-19 patients to another company for Rs 2,000. That company was giving the same body bags to the Central Procurement Department for Rs 6,800 and this contract was signed by the then BMC mayor," said the sources in the ED.
(with inputs from ANI)
