 "Enforcement Directorate, ED")
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is raiding 15 premises in Mumbai and another outside the city as part of its money laundering investigation into the alleged multi-crore Covid-19 jumbo centre scam.
The premises of Sujit Patkar, a close aide to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, and IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal—then additional municipal commissioner, BMC and a close aide of Aaditya Thackeray —are among those being searched.
Besides searching Patkar and Jaiswal's homes, ED officials are also raiding the premises of contractors and middlemen involved in the alleged scam, the Indian Express reported.
According to sources, the investigated locations include Lifeline Hospital Management Services in Sasmira Marg, Worli, and Patkar's House in Santacruz (East), among others.
The ED's Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigation into the alleged Covid jumbo centres scam is based on the Mumbai police case, which was registered in August last year at the Azad Maidan police station by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya.
The FIR was registered against four partners of Lifeline Hospital Management Services, including Sujit Patkar.
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The case was later transferred to the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in October 2022.
In January of this year, EOW served notices to senior officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seeking information about contracts and payments made to Lifeline Hospital Management Services, which was contracted by the civic body to set up Covid-19 jumbo centres in Mumbai during the pandemic.
Later, other civic officials were investigated in connection with the matter. Among the others named in the FIR were Dr Hemant Ramsharan Gupta, Sanjay Madanlal Shah, and Raju Nandkumar Salunkhe.
(With agency input)
