BMC engineers

bribe

licence department

Officials of K-West Ward demanded the money from a salon in Andheri to stop demolition of unauthorised construction; FIR was filed by ACB.Twohave been booked by the Mumbai Police’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding Rs 3-lakhfrom a men’s salon in Andheri West to prevent demolition of an unauthorised construction on its premises.The ACB filed an FIR against junior engineer Amol Ajay Singh Jadhav, 29, and sub-engineer Anand Ramesh Nerurkar, 36, of K-West Ward in Andheri West on July 13 after a preliminary inquiry conducted by it found the duo guilty of demanding money from an employee of Deepak Salon on Juhu Tara Road.The worker had approached the ACB with records of his conversations with Jadhav and Nerurkar.The two have not been arrested yet.According to sources in the civic body, the salon employee visited the BMC ward office in Andheri West after receiving a notice for alleged unauthorised constructions on the premises. Investigations by the ACB revealed that Jadhav suggested an underhand deal and assured the employee that no action would be taken against the salon if they coughed up Rs 3 lakh.Sub-engineer Nerurkar, who was also part of the purported conversation, agreed to scale down the demand to Rs 2 lakh after negotiations. The two had no idea that the salon employee was recording their conversations, a source said.“They wanted to resolve the issue of unauthorised construction by the salon in an illegal manner. They were looking for monetary gain and misused their positions. That’s why an FIR has been registered against the two,” said a civic official of K-West Ward on the condition of anonymity.When contacted, ACB officers confirmed filing of the FIR.Prashant Gaikwad, assistant commissioner of K-West Ward, said, “Amol Jadhav and Anand Nerurkar have been booked for demanding money from the men’s salon. But they are yet to be arrested.”This is the second such graft case lodged against BMC officials in the past four months.On March 27, two officials from the BMC’swere arrested by the ACB for seeking a bribe of Rs 9,000 from the owner of a commercial establishment to grant him a favourable report, saying all requisite NOCs for his business are in place.The arrested are inspector Niyaz Ahmed Kazi, 45, and senior inspector Sandip Maruti More, 53, both belonging to R-South Ward in Kandivali West.In that case too, the complainant refused to give into the demands of the civic officials and approached the ACB.