In Mumbai, a special court operating under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has issued a 10-day judicial custody order for Sujit Patkar, a close associate of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.
During the hearing, which took place on Tuesday, Patkar was brought before the special PMLA judge MG Deshpande by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The judge observed that Patkar had not reported any mistreatment by the ED officers.
The ED’s Special Public Prosecutor, Kavita Patil, representing the agency, requested judicial custody for Patkar. The ED stated that the alleged malpractices had resulted in personal financial gains for the partners of Lifeline Hospital Management Services and other associates, putting the lives of Covid-19 patients at risk during the pandemic.
The ED emphasized that the investigation into tracing the Proceeds of Crime (PoC) was at a crucial stage and asked for Patkar’s judicial custody for a minimum of 14 days to prevent any interference that could hinder further investigation into the fraud and money-laundering in the case.
The court granted Patkar 10 days’ custody while Dr. Kishore Bisure, the dean of the Covid centre in Dahisar and a co-accused, had been sent to judicial custody earlier on July 27.
Both Patkar and Bisure were arrested on July 19, 2023, in connection with an alleged jumbo Covid centre scam. Patkar had been in ED custody prior to this court decision.
The ED initiated a money laundering case against Patkar and others based on an FIR filed at Azad Maidan police station, which is also under investigation by the Economic Offence Wing of the Mumbai police. Patkar had sought the quashing of the FIR against him at Azad Maidan police station, and the case was later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.
The cases against Patkar were filed after a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who alleged that Patkar lacked prior expertise in the field and was awarded the contract in violation of norms. Patkar included Somaiya as a party to the petition, and a notice was issued to the BJP leader on Wednesday.