Deputy municipal commissioner (removal of encroachments) Chandrasekhar Rokade, who was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a contractor at the former’s office at Cotton Green, will be produced in court on Saturday.
A senior ACB official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said investigations were on to find out if other staff from Rokade’s office were involved in the bribery deal.
According to the ACB, every year, the BMC floats tenders worth around Rs 10 crore for the removal of encroachments across the city. The work is split into seven zones and as many contractors are awarded contracts, zone wise. “Contractors essentially supply the logistics (vehicles) and labour required for the anti-encroachment drives initiated by the BMC,” ACB sources said.
Rokade, a 1988 batch Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) officer had initially joined as a deputy superintendent of police (DySP) in the Maharashtra police. He joined the BMC as a deputy municipal commissioner in 1998. His first posting in the BMC was in the encroachment removal department.
Rokade has been known to be close to municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar. “Rokde was in Kumar’s good books for taking on the slumlords and politicians. Recently he had also rubbed the ruling Shiv Sena by undertaking a massive clean up against illegal Shiv Vada Pav stalls set up by Sena workers,” said a senior civic official.
{{/usCountry}}Rokade has been known to be close to municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar. “Rokde was in Kumar’s good books for taking on the slumlords and politicians. Recently he had also rubbed the ruling Shiv Sena by undertaking a massive clean up against illegal Shiv Vada Pav stalls set up by Sena workers,” said a senior civic official.
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