Mumbai: Ambadas Danve slams BJP over Sujit Patkar's arrest in BMC Covid scam case

BMC headquarters. File Pic

Maharashtra Legislative Council Leader of Opposition and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies are servants of the BJP.

Reacting to businessman Sujit Patkar's arrest by the ED in BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) Covid scam case, Ambadas Danve said, "ED and other agencies are servants of the BJP, they arrested Sanjay Raut too. He was in jail for 100 days." Sujit Patkar is a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.

Attacking the BJP, Ambadas Danve said, "BJP must arrest Kirit Somaiya and inquire about him, his videos go viral."

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act court on Thursday sent businessman Sujit Patkar and another person Dr Kishor Bisure to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till July 27.

Earlier in the day, ED arrested Sujit Patkar and Dr Kishore in connection with the alleged Mumbai Covid Centre scam case. These are the first arrests in the case.

The ED said that Sujit Patkar did not cooperate in the inquiry and when he was asked about the money transaction, he was not answering properly.

Earlier in June, ED raided 15 locations in Mumbai in connection with the alleged BMC Covid centre scam case and seized cash and documents of properties worth crores, according to ED sources.

The ED source said that Sujit 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. 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.

According to the sources, ED had also seized several mobile phones and laptops along with many incriminating documents. 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.

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