Mumbai: Not just docs, even patients were faked during pandemic in jumbo centre scam

A patient waits outside the Dahisar jumbo COVID-19 centre, owing to unavailability of beds, on April 19, 2021. Pic/Satej Shinde

The private contractors appointed to run the BMC's jumbo COVID-19 centres manipulated the number of patients admitted for treatment to fraudulently obtain money from the civic body, suspect the ED. Previously, the agency had said that Lifeline Hospital that was operating four centres in the city took a payment of Rs 22 crore using the names of fake doctors.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) believes that certain civic officials were also involved in the scam. The agency is investigating the money laundering angle in the alleged jumbo centre scam case, which involves Lifeline Hospital Management Services (LHMS) that was awarded the contract to operate the jumbo centres.

The jumbo centre in Mulund, on March 1, 2021. Pic/Sameer Markande

In a previous disclosure, the central agency said that the LHMS management submitted to the BMC a list of doctors, but 80 per cent of the names were fake, in whose name they fraudulently received a payment of Rs 22 crore. Similarly, the management is suspected of inflating the patient count to fleece the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

According to ED officers, the LHMS management had submitted counterfeit resumes and certificates for approximately 150 doctors, which were not properly verified by the authorities concerned. Moreover, some doctors were found to have worked at the COVID-19 centre for only two-three months, but funds were misappropriated under their names for an entire year, they said.

A source from the ED said, "We suspect that the management exaggerated the number of doctors required, and in order to meet this fabricated demand, patient numbers were also manipulated."

Examining documents

Sources said they are examining the number of patients treated at the COVID-19 centres. They have already begun collecting information and the ED is currently checking the documents seized during multiple raids to determine if the reported patient numbers were exaggerated, they added.

Health workers shift one of the COVID-19 patients from the general ward to the ICU ward, at NESCO jumbo centre in Goregaon, on June 4, 2021. Pic/Satej Shinde

Sources in the ED said that besides the LHMS management, other contractors also engaged in similar activities. The total estimated value of the scam is suspected to be around R4,000 crore, with the LHMS accounting for only R38 crore of the amount, they added.

The investigation focuses on the COVID-19 centres located in NSEL, Worli, Mulund, Dahisar, and Pune setup by the BMC. The civic body gave the contract to LHMS even though it did not have any expertise in the healthcare system and was once even blacklisted by the Pune Municipal Corporation. The case against LHMS and five individuals were filed by Azad Maidan police last August and the ED took cognisance of the same.

Chavan quizzed

Sources have revealed that Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary and Yuva Sena member Suraj Chavan was being questioned regarding the purchase of four flats during the pandemic. Chavan, a close associate of Aaditya Thackeray, has admitted to owning two of the flats, but has been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the source of the funds used for the purchase, said ED officers.

Sources said Chavan has asserted that he is not associated with the other two flats currently under investigation by the agency. An officer from the ED said, "His statements are currently under examination."

Rs 38 crore
Estimated value of scam by Lifeline Hospital, as per ED