Mumbai: A sessions court on Wednesday remanded to police custody a man who was caught red-handed while collecting a bribe of Rs. 50,000 for his friend and assistant engineer with the city civic body’s Building and Factory department in exchange for not taking action over an illegal construction.
The accused Abdul Khan, who works as a fabricator was produced before the court, which remanded him in police custody for two days Additional Public Prosecutor Ramesh Siroya said.
Khan was caught in a trap laid by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Assistant engineer Santhosh Pawar is attached to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) P North ward’s Building and Factory department is at large.
Pawar had visited the complainant’s house owned by his brother in Malad’s Malvani area, which was undergoing roof and other repair work and had taken photos of it. He had told the complainant that the work had certain irregularities and had asked to meet him.
The complainant had met Pawar with the request not to start an inquiry into the construction and the engineer had demanded Rs. 1,40,000 from him. The complainant had made a written complaint to the ACB on 23 May as he was unwilling to make the payment. The following day, during the probe, it was revealed that he demanded Rs. 1,10,000 and asked the complainant to give the amount to his friend Abdul Khan. Thereafter, a trap was laid and Khan was caught red-handed.
