Devendra Fadnavis on COVID-19 centres scam, says people’s life was put at risk

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that alleged irregularities in setting up COVID-19 care centres in Mumbai during the pandemic when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in office could have resulted in many people losing their life.

He said companies with no prior experience were roped in to provide medical services during the coronavirus pandemic. Along with the scam in the BMC’s COVID-19 care centres that was surfaced, shocking information has emerged of how some inexperienced companies were formed and people’s life was put at risk (during the pandemic). This also resulted in some people losing their life, said Fadnavis, who is also the home minister.

A journalist in Pune died because of such mismanagement (of care centres). Hence, an inquiry into this matter (irregularities) was going on,  he said. However, Fadnavis sidestepped questions related to Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged scam in running COVID-19 centres.

The details of the raids, their scope and what information they (ED) have unearthed are not known to me, said the deputy chief minister. ED on Wednesday raided 15 locations in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged COVID-19 centres scam against businessman Sujit Patkar, believed to be a close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, and others.