Want SIT probe into irregularities in Covid centre contracts: BJP leader Somaiya

Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Wednesday demanded a special investigation team SIT to probe into alleged irregularities in the award of contracts for Covid centres by the city civic body during the pandemicAddressing a press conference at his home here Somaiya claimed a scam of Rs 100 crore related to Lifeline Hospital Management Services The firms copartner Sujeet Patkar is a close aide of Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut he saidThe Mumbai Police had in August 2022 registered an FIR against the hospital management company and four persons including Patkar for allegedly submitting fake documents to obtain contracts for Covid19 care centres in 2020Somaiya said the police on Tuesday arrested two persons in connection with the case and one of them is a tea vendor outside the civicrun KEM hospital in ParelTo this company which didnt exist then in 2020 how did the Mumbai municipal corporation give Rs 100 crore Covid centre contract to it Whose pressure was it Was it of Bandra or Bhandup said Somaiya demanding an SIT probeIN PHOTOS Maharashtra Opposition leaders protest during states budget sessionWhile Uddhav Thackeray then chief minister is a Bandra resident Raut lives in BhandupSomaiya a former MP alleged that Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray had given the Worli and Dahisar jumbo centre ICU management contracts to the company despite it being blacklisted by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development AuthoritySomaiya said Lifeline had only 18 persons as against the immediate requirement of 6000 persons as per the Covid centre contracts Then how the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC gave the contracts to it he askedThe BJP leader claimed that the company has received profits of Rs 32 crore so far and its four copartners have distributed Rs 20 crore among themselves The tea vendor is a copartner and a profit of 411 crore has been officially credited to his account he saidSomaiya also urged Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to provide police protection to the person who had given a bogus bill of Rs 325 crore to PatkarHe also demanded registration of an attempt to murder case against the partners of the company saying three persons including a journalist died while being treatedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever