2 BMC officials held for accepting Rs 10 lakh bribe

The Mumbai unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday has trapped and arrested two assistant engineers from BMC for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh as first instalment of Rs 41 lakh demanded for not initiating action against a builder’s ongoing construction work. The complainant is a 61-year-old real estate developer and is carrying out construction projects in a few areas in Santa Cruz area of western suburbs.

An ACB official said that the construction work carried out by him was not illegal but even then the BMC officials termed it as illegal and issued a notice against the work. However, the officials said they had received a complaint of illegal construction against the complainant builder. They then allegedly threatened the builder that they would initiate action against him under the BMC Act and then demanded a bribe of Rs 41 lakh for not acting against him.

The accused have been identified as assistant engineers Pushkar Meshram (35) and Sandeep Rajput (42), divisional officers in BMC’s H-west ward.

On Wednesday, the complainant approached the ACB after which a trap was laid on Friday at the builder’s office. The accused arrived and demanded the bribe be kept in their car. The accused were speeding away in their car when the ACB intercepted them.