The Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Zone-2, Ramakant Biradar, Saturday morning appeared before the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and joined a probe in connection with an FIR the agency has filed to probe the alleged irregularities involved in purchasing body bags for deceased Covid-19 patients.
Biradar, who was in charge of the civic body’s central purchase department during the pandemic, was recently summoned to remain present before the EOW officials.
Biradar reached the EOW head office in the Mumbai police headquarters at around 11 am. The EOW officials will record his statement in the matter.
Earlier, Biradar’s statement had been recorded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as a part of its probe into various alleged irregularities in the BMC’s functioning during the Covid pandemic period.
On August 4, the EOW filed an FIR against ex-mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Kishori Pednekar, a former additional municipal commissioner (projects) and a former deputy municipal commissioner (purchase/CPD), private contractor Vedanta Innotech Pvt Ltd (VIPL) and other unknown government servants in an alleged scam involving the purchase of body bags at inflated rates during the pandemic. The amount involved in the alleged fraud has been mentioned at around Rs 49.63 lakh.
The private company under the scanner had allegedly supplied body bags for deceased Covid-19 patients to the BMC at Rs 6,719 a piece, which was over three times (Rs 1,500 per piece) what it had charged other private hospitals or government authorities during the same period, an earlier ED inquiry has reportedly revealed.
Pednekar and other senior civic officials were booked under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant or by a banker, merchant, or agent), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
EOW Assistant Police Inspector Arjun Padwale is the complainant in the case that was registered based on a complaint by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya on July 18, alleging irregularities in the expenditure during the Covid pandemic period.
The case
Padwale said that after conducting a detailed inquiry, it was revealed that on April 8, 2020, the BMC’s Central Purchase Department had floated an expression of interest (EOI-1) to purchase 1,000 body bags for deceased Covid patients.
After scrutiny of documents and testing of the sample body bags, VIPL was found to be the eligible vendor. On April 16, 2020, the BMC awarded the purchase order/work order to the VIPL for the supply of 1,000 body bags at Rs 6,719 per bag. Accordingly, the VIPL supplied 1,000 body bags to BMC.
Following this, on April 14, 2020, the CPD floated an expression of interest (EOI-2) for further supply of body bags. Again, the VIPL was the sole eligible vendor in the scrutiny. The BMC hence decided to invite a fresh EOI.
On April 29, 2020, the BMC floated EOI-3. During the said EOI, two vendors qualified: M/s Care One Solutions and the VIPL. On May 11, 2020, the first testing of the samples was conducted as the two vendors were found eligible.
Accordingly, M/s Care One Solutions, after negotiations, offered to supply body bags at Rs 2,583 per bag.
In the meantime, then mayor Kishori Pednekar called Haridas Rathod (holding additional charge of deputy dean, CPD, BMC) at her bungalow at Ranibagh, Byculla and instructed him to give work to the VIPL, the FIR stated. Rathod allegedly conveyed this to the then DMC, CPD.
However, an enquiry revealed that Rathod of the CPD proposed the purchase order to be issued in favour of M/s Care One Solutions and on May 15, 2020, the purchase order was issued to M/s Care One Solutions for the supply of 1,000 body bags.
The first lot of 200 body bags, which was sought to be handed over at Andheri Sports Complex, was refused to be accepted by the BMC for no valid reason.
At the same time, due to the alleged illegal directions of the then additional municipal commissioner (projects), and the then DMC, CPD, the samples submitted at the time of EOI were re-tested and declared unfit on May 18, 2020, the FIR states.
However, the purchase order was cancelled by the BMC on May 15, 2020 – even before the results of the retesting were obtained – the EOW probe has revealed.
Thereafter, till June 2020, an alternate supplier of body bags was not finalised due to various reasons.
The BMC continued to purchase body bags from the VIPL at Rs 6,719 per body bag.
Between May 16, 2020 and June 7, 2023, the BMC purchased a total of 1,200 body bags in four tranches and paid over Rs 80 lakh to the VIPL, the FIR states.
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“It is pertinent to note that prior to May 15, 2020, Care One Solutions had supplied about 100 body bags to other BMC-run hospitals at Rs 2,925 per bag, which is far cheaper than the rate at which these bags were procured from the VIPL later,” the EOW official stated in the FIR.
“From these facts, it has transpired that, the then DMC CPD, BMC, the then AMC (Projects), BMC, the then Mayor of BMC, Pednekar, unknown public servants and private persons entrusted with use of funds of the BMC having its dominion over said funds, hatched a criminal conspiracy to favour M/s Vedanta Innotech Pvt, Ltd (VIPL), its directors and defrauded the BMC,” Padwale said in the FIR.
He added that they allegedly committed a criminal breach of entrustment of public monies to the tune of Rs 49,63,200 and thereby committed the offence.
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