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Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials investigating the alleged Rs 38 crore Covid jumbo centers scam have claimed that Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sanjeev Jaiswal had a key role in it. The agency raided his residence in Bandra (Eastern) and seized Rs 13,000 in cash and title documents, apart from raiding and identifying several other properties of the officer worth more than Rs 100 crore, which includes a half-acre land in Madh Island.
On Thursday, the Emergency Department conducted searches in four locations, including two locations in the MMR region belonging to senior BMC officials and a suspected supplier. The agency is now trying to ascertain how many of these properties are linked to the proceeds of crime.
According to the sources, Jaiswal alleged that he was made a scapegoat in the ongoing crackdown by the emergency department, saying that he was working on behalf of the state government during the Covid pandemic and was not only involved in purchasing equipment, medicines and sanction contracts. He said senior bureaucrats and civilian officials were also involved, but he was the only one targeted. He also claimed that the properties under the scanner are those of his predecessors which are now worth more than Rs 100 crore due to the current market price.
Jaiswal who is called by the agency for interrogation but skips the call and asks for time. The agency will soon issue him a second recall. Jaiswal was not available for comment.
Work for a month, bills for a year
The EED wrote emails to the 200-300 doctors who provided their services during the pandemic, some of whom provided their vital data to the BMC, while others worked in the civilian body. They told the ED that they worked 15-30 days at BMC, but were billed for the year in their names. ED stumbles upon transactions and records indicating bills of Rs 20 crore.
A former major on the radar
ED sources said they came across former mayor Kishori Pednekar’s role in the alleged scam. It is suspected that Pidenekar knew most of the wrongdoing and also gave instructions to sanction supply contracts to certain entities. Besides Pednekar, several senior BMC officials are also under the scanner.
Sources in the emergency department said that starting next week, the main suspects will be called in for questioning. The agency has already confiscated 12 mobile phones of BMC officials, brokers, suppliers and contractors. It also cleared the WhatsApp contacts of the four partners of Lifeline Hospital Management Services, the partnership firm of Sujit Patkar, a close associate of Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut. The agency claimed to have obtained major leads from the chats.
12 complaints received
After the crackdown, the emergency unit said it received 12 complaints, including complaints against four to five senior officers and people in political circles. Some of the complainants are citizens and some are competitors of the defendants. Besides sharing details of the Covid jumbo center scams, the complaints also provided details of other scams.
“Now we have found the names of 5-6 other entities, which are under scrutiny for their involvement in illegal practices,” a source said.
Also on Thursday, a team of ED officers visited the Central Purchasing Department (CPD) at BMC in Byculla to check and collect procurement documents related to contracts that were sanctioned during the pandemic. It is through this department that all expenditures related to the health department of the BMC are performed.
Another source said Suraj Chavan, secretary of Yuva Sena, who is believed to be close to Aditya Thackeray, is also under investigation to see if he used his influence to ensure Lifeline Hospital Management Services got the contract.
Case history
The ED’s investigation into the alleged scam is based on a case registered by Mumbai Police in August 2022 at Azad Maidan Police Station based on a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. In October 2022, the case was transferred to the Mumbai Police’s Economic Crimes Wing (EOW). Subsequently, the ED registered a PMLA case in this matter.
The case relates to field hospitals set up by the government in Mumbai during the Covid-19 pandemic. The BMC has been taking care of provision of health care staff and other facilities on a contract basis. The BJP alleged that contracts were awarded at exorbitant prices to contractors associated with the Shiv Sena leaders, despite the fact that they had no previous experience in healthcare services.
The standards followed while awarding contracts are under investigation along with the criminal aspect of the alleged fraud, while the executive is investigating the money laundering aspect and trying to trace the money trail.
The FIR on 24 August 2022 gave names to Lifeline Hospital Management Services, which the civil authority has contracted to set up Covid jumbo centers in Mumbai, and its partners Sujit Mukund Patkar, Dr Hemant Ramsharan Gupta, Sanjay Madanlal Shah and Raju Nandkumar Salunkhe. In January this year, the Mumbai Police EOW obtained the details regarding the imposition of penalties on contracts and payments for Lifeline hospital management services.
The complainant, Keret Somaya, stated in his complaint that the accused company does not have any experience in providing health or medical services. The complaint said the company obtained the contract on the basis of forged documents, including the partnership contract. Soumya also claimed that the company was blacklisted by Pune Metropolitan Development Authority for providing medical services, but the company hid this fact from BMC and managed to get a contract to provide services in mega centres.
EOW has so far arrested two people – Raju Nandakumar Salunke alias Rajiv, 48, an associate of LHMS and Bala Ramchandra Kadam alias Sunil, aged 58.
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