Mumbai police lodge case against former city mayor in COVID scam

The Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has lodged a case against Mumbai's high-profile former Mayor, Kishori Pednekar of the Shiv Sena (UBT), in an alleged scam involving the purchase of body bags for Covid centres during the pandemic, officials said here on Saturday.

The Agripada Police Station has filed the case against Pednekar and two other civic officials in the matter which is also being probed by Enforcement Directorate (ED).

After the issue of irregularities in the tendering process was raised by the BJP’s Kirit Somaiya, the ED had raided certain locations as part of its probe last month.

It was alleged that the body bags to carry dead Covid victims were costing barely Rs 2,000, but were purchased for Rs 6,800.

Somaiya, who had filed his complaint on July 13, claimed that body bags costing Rs 1,500 were bought for Rs 6,700 and the police have booked Pednekar, an Additional Municipal Commissioner, and a private company based in Aurangabad, Vedant Innotech Pvt. Ltd.

Anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania had exposed the issue in January 2020, pointing to a scam on the exorbitant prices for the purchase of body bags and claimed that the rates were almost double of the rate paid in the US.

Somaiya said that he was investigating three more complaints in different cases and predicted that Pednekar and three more leaders would now go to jail.