Jumbo COVID centres: Contractor, officials booked for ₹37 cr fraud

A contractor and BMC officials have been booked by the Mumbai Police for cheating the civic body of ₹37 crore while running two Covid centers. This is the seventh case registered by the police regarding alleged irregularities in the BMC's handling of the pandemic.

MUMBAI: A contractor and unidentified Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials have been booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating the civic body to the tune of ₹37 crore while running two jumbo Covid centers in Dahisar and Mulund. This is the seventh case registered by the EOW regarding alleged irregularities in the civic body’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The case was registered at the Tardeo police station based on a complaint by an EOW officer and after conducting preliminary enquiry, said police officials. The accused include Oaks Management Consultancy Pvt Ltd (OMCPL), its founder director Rahul Gomes, some unknown vendors and BMC officials. They have been booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 120B (conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the FIR, between October 1, 2020 and August 1, 2022, Gomes submitted fake information and bills to the BMC towards running the two jumbo Covid centers at Dahisar and Mulund, which were cleared in connivance with concerned civic officials and vendors.

“In July 2020, when CIDCO and Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited decided to establish the covid jumbo centres, the contract was awarded to Gomes’s company. Gomes procured all the equipment to set up the centres from other contractors and charged for the same. But when the centres were handed over to the BMC after three months, and the civic body decided to keep them running, he levied establishment charges every three months,” said a police officer.

In all, the civic body paid his firm around ₹128.77 crore towards running the Mulund centre for 18 months and the Dahisar center 21 months; whereas Gomes underpaid the vendors whose services he availed by 30% to 50%, thus cheating the BMC of around ₹37 crore, said the officer.

The EOW had already registered six cases in connection with alleged irregularities in BMC’s handling of the pandemic, including in setting up of the oxygen generation plant, khichdi distribution, procurement of body bags and Remdesivir injections.