Covid jumbo centre scam: ED raids 10 places belonging to contractors

These services mainly include setting up make-shift hospitals and also setting up oxygen plants.

Around Rs 1.80 crore cash and incriminating documents have been seized from the tainted contractors during the searches, ED sources told The Indian Express.

ED sources said that Wednesday the agency officials raided various contractors’ places. These contractors are under agency’s scrutiny for alleged gross irregularities.

Among the contractors who were raided by the agency include Ghatkopar-based contractor Romin Chheda who was awarded contracts for setting up Oxygen plants.

It is suspected that he received exorbitantly high payments from the BMC. Chheda is suspected to have got the contract work done through an UP-based entity Highway Construction Company, and was paid around Rs 300 crore for setting up the oxygen plants during the Covid-19 pandemic, said an agency source.

He is also under scanner for allegedly providing substandard equipment and despite this, his files were processed by civic officials and he was paid exorbitantly, the  source added.

Chheda is authorised representative of Highway Construction Company, a company which is based in Allahabad, U.P. The entity was penalised in the Byculla Zoo Penguin enclosure scam. His name cropped up in the investigation related to Suraj Chavan, a close aide of Shiv Sena UBT leader Aditya Thackerey, who was also questioned in connection with the case.

Second key contractor who is facing the ED heat is one Oaks Management Consultancy Pvt Ltd of Rahul Gomes, which has provided beds, fans, tents and other facilities at Covid fields hospitals in Dahisar, Worli, MMRDA, and Mulund and BKC part-2.

Oaks Management had been paid nearly around Rs 40 crore by the BMC and it is under close scrutiny now.

Places belonging to developers Jude Romell and Dominic Romell of Vile Parlee based Romell Group were also searched by the ED in western and northern suburbs. Their entity had received Rs 13 crore for setting up make shift Hospitals including Jumbo Centre UNESCO Goregaon. Rs 60 lakh cash have been seized from their premises. The Romell brothers suspected to have links with IAS Sanjeev Jaiswal, who was earlier proved by the agency.