A special court in Mumbai extended the custody of Suraj Chavan, who was apprehended in connection with the alleged ‘Khichdi’ scam related to Covid-19. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will now hold him in custody until January 25.
Chavan, residing in Chembur Sindhi Society, was arrested by the ED on January 17. He is purportedly a close associate of Aditya Thackeray, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), and a core committee member of the Yuva Sena, led by Thackeray.
Investigators claim irregularities in the awarding of contracts for supplying ‘khichdi’ to migrants during the Covid-19 pandemic by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police initiated an inquiry into the matter after a case was filed at the Agripada police station. Subsequently, the ED registered a case based on this predicate offence and commenced its investigation.
Allegedly, Rs 8.64 crore from the BMC for khichdi supply was transferred to the bank account of a company named Force One Multi Services. This company received the work order for khichdi, and it is claimed that a portion of this money made its way into Chavan’s bank account, which he allegedly used to acquire assets.
The special court opined, based on the contentions of ED officers, that there is a prima facie possibility that the accused, due to his proximity to the political leader, influenced the awarding of the khichdi order to Force One Multi Services.
Meanwhile, Chavan challenged the January 18 order, remanding him to four days of ED custody, in the Bombay High Court. Chavan’s counsel, Dilip Sartape, argued that the arrest was illegal, asserting that the grounds of arrest provided to the accused did not comply with the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On Monday, Justice PD Naik granted Chavan time to amend his plea and attach the special court’s remand order extending his custody until January 25. The high court will hear Chavan’s plea on January 29. Sartape contended that although Chavan was not named as an accused in the scheduled offence registered by the EOW, the ED later included him as an accused, making his subsequent custody with the agency illegal.
