MUMBAI: The BJP, which has been promising corruption-free governance, came in for some embarrassment after one of its corporators and her aide were trapped by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe from a garage owner to protect his ‘ illegal shed ’ in Chembur. The party has suspended the corporator Rajshree Palande (40).

Palande and her assistant, Sunil Khanna (45) have been granted bail.

The accused had allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh and a part of the land plot where the shed was constructed.

The matter pertains to a plot of land in Chembur where the complainant, a garage owner, had illegally constructed a shed, said ACB officials. The BMC had also issued a notice to the garage owner, and had decided to prosecture him. That is when Palande and her assistant approached him to help quash the notice. In exchange they demanded Rs 5 lakh and a part of the plot, said an ACB official.

Palande, said the official, assured the complainant that she would get the notice against him quashed and would ensure that his illegal structure would remain intact.

“After some haggling with the garage owner, Palande agreed to settle the matter for Rs 1 lakh in cash and a part of the land. Khanna was to collect the first instalment on Friday,” said the official, adding that the garage owner approached the ACB. “Khanna was caught accepting Rs 50,000. Subsequently, Palande was arrested from Chembur. We found Rs 2.5 lakh cash at her house.”

While Palande lives in a rented accommodation in Chembur, Khanna has lives in a 1,000-sq-ft house in in a plush building at Deonar, said another official.

Confirming that Palande had been suspended, city BJP chief Ashish Shelar, who is also an MLA, said it was done to send a strong message that corrupt practices are not acceptable to the party.