4 ‘scams’, 6 FIRs, 5 arrests: MVA’s Covid era under scanner as Aaditya Thackeray aide’s held

THE arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s close aide Suraj Chavan on Wednesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged khichdi scam is another indication of the sustained pursuit by Central agencies of decisions taken during the Covid pandemic by the then Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

The ED is now investigating four alleged scams dealing with the handling of the Covid-19 from that time, all opened in the last 16 months. At least five arrests have so far been made in these cases, by the ED as well as the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police. Besides, several Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, civic officials, middlemen and contractors who were part of the operations during the Covid period have been questioned.

The BJP accuses the then united Sena and its leader Uddhav Thackerey, who was the Chief Minister at the time, of gross financial irregularities in the functioning of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) during the pandemic.

The first of the FIRs was filed in August 2022, by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who alleged scams in setting up of Covid jumbo centres, where people quarantined following exposure to the virus were isolated.

The ED launched a money laundering probe in the matter and claims to have stumbled upon various alleged irregularities estimated to be worth around Rs 4,000 crore in the BMC’s spendings during the period.

This prompted the ED to write to the EOW of the Mumbai Police, highlighting details of the alleged irregularities. Following this, multiple Preliminary Enquiries were initiated by the Mumbai Police, and gradually almost all of them turned into FIRs.

Alongside these FIRs, a Special Investigation Team