Former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar gets interim protection from arrest in Covid-19 body bag purchase scam

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The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to former Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar for a duration of four weeks in connection with an alleged scam related to the purchase of body bags for Covid-19 victims.

Justice N J Jamadar, presiding as a single bench, provided this relief to Pednekar, emphasizing that the investigation was ongoing, and there was currently no need for custodial interrogation, PTI reported.

The court specified that consideration of custodial interrogation could be addressed during the final hearing. Consequently, Pednekar's liberty was safeguarded for four weeks, with the provision that she would be released on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 in the event of her arrest.

Furthermore, the court directed Pednekar to cooperate with the probe, requiring her to appear before the city police's Economic Offences Wing on September 11, 13, and 16 for questioning from 10 am to 1 pm.

The matter will be revisited by the bench after the four-week period.

Pednekar sought relief from the High Court after a sessions court rejected her pre-arrest bail plea last week. The sessions court's decision cited the serious nature of the economic offense allegations involving a substantial amount of public funds.

The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had registered a case against Pednekar and two senior officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 420 (cheating) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy). The case was initiated following a complaint lodged by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.

The allegations centered on the misappropriation of funds and irregularities in managing health facilities and procuring essential items such as body bags for deceased Covid-19 patients and masks during the pandemic.

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Pednekar, who served as Mumbai's mayor from November 2019 to March 2022, when the term of the BMC's general body concluded, claimed that she was falsely implicated and that the complaint against her was politically motivated. She argued that the case was initiated after a split within the Shiv Sena party, and she is being targeted because she is aligned with the Uddhav Thackeray faction.

Furthermore, Pednekar alleged that the complainant, Kirit Somaiya, a former Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai, had a history of targeting politicians who did not belong to his party, portraying him as a habitual complainant. (PTI)