Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Friday filed a chargesheet in the BMC khichdi distribution scam against eight accused.
The chargesheet, filed in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Esplanade, names Sunil Ramchandra Kadam alias Bala Kadam, partner of Vaishnavi Kitchen/Sahyadri Refreshment; Rajiv Nandkumar Salunkhe; Sujit Mukund Patkar, partner of Force One Multi Services; and wanted accused Sanjay Chandrakant Mashilkar, Pranjal Sanjay Mashilkar, Pritam Sanjay Mashilkar, Suraj Satish Chavan, and Amol Gajanan Kirtikar. They have been accused of cheating the civic administration of Rs14.57 crore between April and July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic under the khichdi distribution scheme.
According to the chargesheet, the eight accused acted in criminal conspiracy and obtained the BMC contract for distributing 300gram khichdi packets without meeting the eligibility criteria. Instead, they provided only 100gram packets at inflated rates.
The accused allegedly charged Rs33 per packet plus GST while outsourcing the preparation of khichdi to Sanjay Mali of Sneha Caterers. The wanted accused – Sanjay Mashilkar, Pranjal Mashilkar, and Pritam Mashilkar, owners of Force One Multi Services – used the food and health licence of Sneha Caterers to fraudulently secure the BMC contract.
The chargesheet also stated that the contract was obtained with the help of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Amol Gajanan Kirtikar. The EOW investigation revealed that fake documents were submitted and no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with Sneha Caterers. While the contract was for distributing 300gram khichdi packets to migrant labourers during the COVID lockdown, only 100gram packets were supplied.
