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The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing has filed an FIR against former city mayor and Shiv Sena leader Kishori Pednekar and two BMC officials over alleged corruption in purchasing body bags for COVID-19 victims.
The complaint was filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who claimed that body bags worth Rs 1,500 were bought at Rs 6,700 each, leading to embezzlement of funds.
The FIR was registered at the Agripada police station on Friday. Pednekar and the two BMC officials have been booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Somaiya said that he had filed the complaint in July after receiving a tip-off from a whistleblower. He alleged that Pednekar and the BMC officials had inflated the prices of the body bags by over 500%.
Pednekar has denied the allegations, calling them "politically motivated". She said that she had followed all the procedures in the purchase of the body bags and that there was no corruption involved.
The police are investigating the matter and have not yet made any arrests.
The FIR comes at a time when the Shiv Sena is facing a political crisis in Maharashtra. The party is currently in a coalition government with the NCP and Congress, but there have been reports of growing rifts between the three parties.
The FIR against Pednekar is likely to add to the pressure on the Shiv Sena government. It remains to be seen how the party will respond to the allegations.
