The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Amol Kirtikar on Wednesday in the khichdi scam case. Kirtikar is among 17 candidates to be fielded in Maharashtra from the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In a list released on Wednesday morning, the party said it will field Kirtikar from the Mumbai-North West Lok Sabha seat.
What is kichdi scam?
The khichdi scam is about fraudulently acquiring a contract for supplying khichdi to migrant labourers. An FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) stated that a meeting at BMC's Byculla office on April 9, 2020, established criteria for awarding the contract, including having a kitchen and health department certificate. Despite this, Vaishnavi Kitchen/Sahyadri Refreshment and Sunil alias Bala Kadam were awarded the contract without meeting these requirements. They subcontracted the work to others and provided smaller food parcels than agreed upon.
Numerous individuals, including Sunil alias Bala Kadam, Raju Salunkhe, Sujit Patkar, associates of Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and senior leader Sanjay Raut, and several BMC employees, were booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy. The FIR alleges that Sahyadri Refreshments received Rs 5.93 crore from the BMC, some of which was transferred to Sujit Patkar for consultancy services. Further investigations revealed irregularities in contracts awarded to other entities, implicating additional parties and raising concerns about financial mismanagement within the BMC.
