No bail to jumbo Covid centre case accused

A special PMLA court denied bail to Sujit Patkar, linked to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, for alleged Covid centre irregularities and fraud.

MUMBAI: A special PMLA court refused to grant bail to Sujit Patkar, a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of alleged irregularities in the operation of two jumbo Covid centres during the pandemic.

No bail to jumbo Covid centre case accused

Patkar, the owner of a consultancy firm, established a partnership firm called Lifeline Hospital Management Services (LHMS) with other partners, namely Dr. Hemant Gupta, Sanjay Shah and Raju Salunkhe. The firm placed bids and bagged contracts for the operation and maintenance of jumbo Covid centres with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Worli and Dahisar.

As per the prosecution, Patkar, a major partner of LHMS with a 30% share, did not provide the required number of medical staff in the facilities and created a fake attendance record. The prosecution alleged that the under-deployment of medical staff put the lives of Covid-19 patients at risk. Patkar, who was given the responsibility of conducting bank office operations of LHMS, is also accused of conspiring with BMC officials to get all the bills cleared.

The investigating body alleged that Patkar closely monitored regular payment, adding that the proceeds of crime were utilised for buying gold biscuits and bars, which were also distributed among BMC officials. As per the ED, proceeds of crime worth ₹2.8 crore were diverted to the bank account of Patkar, which he used to repay his personal loans by protecting them as untainted funds.

According to the prosecution, Patkar along with other partners of LHMS, namely Dr. Hemant Gupta, Sanjay Shah and Raju Salunkhe, submitted a false and forged partnership deed with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on June 26, 2020.

Patkar’s advocate invoked the grounds of parity, while observing that one Dr Hemant Gupta who was responsible for management of the Covid centres is out on bail.

Pointing out that there is nothing on record to show that the accused was involved in forgery of documents, the court observed that prima-facie it appears that a false list was made using a greater number of patients and a greater number of employees. However, special sessions judge AC Daga observed that Patkar took part in every activity of the firm including submitting fake bills and vouchers to BMC officials, which makes his role much more severe than others.

“Though the applicant/accused with his partners stepped forward trying to show that they want to save the life of human but had entered into criminal conspiracy and has played with the life of people at large by under-deployment of doctors and staff with an only intention to cheat the BMC and generate proceeds of crime by fake bills and vouchers,” observed the special PMLA court, while rejecting his bail plea.

The court said that there is no delay shown by the investigating body in proceeding with the trial, adding that Patkar can apply for a fresh bail, if there is no progress in the trial in the next six to eight months.