Kapil yet to reveal names of ‘bribe-seeking’ BMC officials

MUMBAI: A day after he tweeted that civic officials demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for regualrising an extension to his Andheri bungalow, comedian-actor Kapil Sharma

MUMBAI: A day after he tweeted that civic officials demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh for regualrising an extension to his Andheri bungalow, comedian-actor Kapil Sharma is yet to name any such official. But controversy continues to dog Sharma. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will now write to the local revenue office and forest department informing them of the destruction of mangroves that had taken place while Sharma carried out extension work of his bungalow at Andheri.

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Sharma, the star of the popular television show “Comedy Nights with Kapil”, has 6.4 million followers on Twitter.

Sharma’s tweet had evoked a response from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who directed the BMC to take action against the offenders following which officials sought details from Sharma. On Saturday, top civic officials said that they were still waiting for Sharma’s response.

The letter had asked the comedian to inform the BMC which specific officers had asked him for a bribe so that action could be initiated against them. A senior civic official said, “Until he gives us a complaint and specifies the nature of work for which the bribe was demanded, we cannot do anything.”

By Friday afternoon, however, Sharma generated another controversy by allegedly carrying out illegal alterations and extensions to his bungalow at Andheri. One of the civic officials said, “We have received several complaints from locals that mangroves were destroyed during works on extending the bungalow. We will write to the forest department and local Tahsil office for further action.”

In July, BMC had issued a stop-work notice to Sharma for carrying out illegal extensions to his bungalow. On August 4, BMC had also demolished parts of the extensions.

He has also been served a notice by Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act for carrying out illegal alterations in his Goregaon residence.