Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday hinted at an inquiry into Covid centres set up when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power, alleging that “public money has been siphoned off”. He said there was an element of truth in allegations of corruption at these facilities, and some complaints were such that it called for a special CAG audit.
Maharashtra was the worst-hit state when the Covid-19 pandemic struck two years ago, and the state government had set up Covid care centres to support the existing health infrastructure.
Speaking on the floor of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Fadnavis said prime facie there seemed like an element of truth in corruption at these Covid centres. “Employees have opened companies overnight and bagged contracts during the Covid period. This will be probed in a time-bound manner,” he said.
Earlier in the day, on a complaint by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, Mumbai Police booked a hospital management firm and four persons for allegedly submitting fake documents to obtain contracts of Covid care centres. The case was registered against M/s Lifeline Hospital Management Service Firm, Dr Hemant Ramsharan Gupta, Sujit Mukund Patkar, Sanjay Madanlal Shah and Raju Nandkumar Salunkhe, police officials said.
Somaiya has alleged that the accused cheated the BMC and public to obtain contracts of Covid centres with the help of fake documents. According to the FIR, in June 2020, the hospital management firm partners submitted an alleged fake partnership deed to the BMC and obtained contracts of Covid centres at NSEL, Worli, Mulund, Dahisar (all in Mumbai) as well as Pune without having any experience in the medical field. The firm had submitted bills of these centres to the BMC and collected Rs 38 crore, the FIR stated.
The FIR further stated that the accused cheated the government machinery and public due to which many died of negligence. After verification, it was found that the staff and doctors at these centres did not have medical certificates and failed to provide proper treatment, it said. The case was registered under IPC sections pertaining to cheating, death by negligence, forgery among others.
(With PTI inputs)
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