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GOLD BARS, gold biscuits and coins worth over Rs 60 lakh were distributed among BMC officials and “politically exposed” persons by partners of the firm under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in the running of two Jumbo centres during the Covid-19 pandemic, a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims.
The agency has also claimed that there was under-deployment of around 50 per cent of staff at the Dahisar Jumbo Covid-19 centre, leading to a heavy workload on medical staffers attending to the patients during the pandemic.
On Friday, the special court took cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the ED against Lifeline Hospital Management Services, the firm which was given the contract to supply medical services to Dahisar and Worli Jumbo Covid centres in 2020, its four partners, Sujit Patkar (alleged aide of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut), Hemant Gupta, Sanjay Shah, Rajeev Salunkhe; its employee Arvind Singh and Dr Kishore Bisure, the dean at the Dahisar centre.
Patkar and Bisure were arrested by the ED in July this year.
“Proceeds of crime were utilised in buying gold biscuits and bars by other accused partner of Lifeline, Mr Sanjay Shah and given to the accused Mr Sujit Patkar and he distributed the same among BMC officials and other persons,” the ED has alleged.
It further states that Patkar had also given cash and valuable items to BMC officials “so that the arrangement of under-deployment of medical staff remains unnoticed”.
Patkar, meanwhile, has denied that there were any irregularities. The agency alleges that between July 2020 and February 2022, irregularities in functioning of the two Covid centres had led to wrongful gain and proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 32.44 crore by the accused.
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