ED Interrogates Kishori Pednekar Over COVID-19 Body Bag Scandal for 6 Hours

Former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for over six hours on Thursday, November 23. The interrogation was part of money laundering allegations related to body bag purchases for COVID-19 patients.

Pednekar was the mayor of Mumbai at the time of the alleged incident. The central agency questioned her over potential involvement in buying body bags for COVID-19 patients who had passed away.

During the interrogation, Pednekar was asked about her communication with any parties involved in the fraud. She denied having contacted any such parties.

After the interrogation, Pednekar stated, "I was summoned by the agency. It had contacted me to ask a question. There are no accusations made against me, and I am not under suspicion. I will provide the documentation that the agency requested. I'm trying to help. I fulfilled my duties as mayor, as was necessary at the time. I gave the agency all the information they requested because they were interested in the circumstances."

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police filed a criminal complaint that serves as the basis for the ED's money laundering case.

The EOW filed a formal complaint on August 4 against many individuals. This included Pednekar, a former deputy municipal commissioner, a former additional municipal commissioner, private contractor Vedanta Innotech Pvt. Ltd. (VIPL), and other unidentified government officials. The fraud was estimated to be worth INR 49.63 lakh. According to the EOW FIR, the accused planned a criminal conspiracy to cheat the BMC and benefit the directors of VIPL.

Pednekar and other senior civic officials were charged under sections 409 (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.

The case was opened by the EOW based on a complaint filed on July 18 by former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya. Somaiya claimed that the BMC's expenses during the pandemic were irregular.

The EOW had questioned Pednekar before in relation to the matter. Earlier this month, the ED also questioned Additional Municipal Commissioner (projects) P Velarasu and an IAS officer for over six hours in a related case. During the pandemic, the central procurement department (CPD) was in charge of purchasing items connected to COVID.