KDMC additional commissioner, 2 clerks caught accepting ₹8 lakh bribe

Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau officials said the bribe was sought for not demolishing a seven-storey illegal building constructed by the complainant.

The Thane Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested 51-year-old Sanjay Gharat, the additional municipal commissioner of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), and two clerks of the civic body in a ₹8 lakh graft case.

Sanjay Gharat, additional municipal commissioner of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation.

According to the ACB, the bribe was sought for not demolishing a seven-storey illegal building constructed by the 28-year-old complainant. The two KDMC clerks held are Lalit Amre, 42, and Bhushan Patil, 27.

A total bribe of ₹45 lakh was sought, which was negotiated to ₹35 lakh. The ₹8 lakh bribe accepted was the first instalment of the total amount. “Gharat accepted the bribe amount in his cabin. The two clerks who were involved in negotiating the deal also had their shares in it,”said Sangramsinh Nishandar, superintendent of police, ACB Thane unit.

The complainant had approached the ACB on May 25 stating that Gharat had sought bribe for ignoring his unauthorised construction. Based on the complaint, ACB started to verify the complaint. On three occasions in the first two weeks of June, it was verified that the clerks working at the behest of Gharat were indeed seeking bribe. Subsequently, a trap was laid on Wednesday, at around 3.15pm, and Gharat was caught.

“We are searching his house and checking if any other transactions were made to the accused in this case. After a detailed inquiry, he will be booked under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and a case will be registered with the local police,” said Deepak Dalvi, deputy superintendent, Thane ACB.

The arrest of the second-most senior officer of the KDMC was a talking point in the city with some even bursting crackers and distributing sweets outside the corporation. Lakhs of residents continue to live in illegal structures across the twin cities. In the past, activists have alleged that illegal structures have mushroomed in the twin cities because of corrupt KDMC officials, who formed a nexus with developers. The state has witnessed 380 trap cases in 2018 so far where government officials and their accomplices were caught accepting bribes.