Rokade remanded to police custody

Deputy municipal commissioner (removal of encroachments), Chandrashekhar Rokade, was remanded to police custody till September 12 by an anti-corruption bureau court on Saturday. HT reports.

Deputy municipal commissioner (removal of encroachments), Chandrashekhar Rokade, was remanded to police custody till September 12 by an anti-corruption bureau (ACB) court on Saturday.

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The civic official, once portrayed as the 'demolition man of BMC,' was caught by the ACB on Friday while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs1 lakh from a contractor at his office in Cotton Green. The bribe was allegedly sought to hasten the clearing of pending bills of some contractors.

Subodh Kumar, municipal commissioner however said, "We will decide what action has to be taken against him after we receive a detail report from ACB."

"There is no need for him to be in jail for 48 hours, one can be suspended even when arrested. But in this case we will wait till ACB report," added Kumar.

"Even after being suspended from service, he may join service again if he was given a clean chit in the departmental inquiry," said a senior civic official.

The Federation Of Retail Traders Welfare Association , however, has come out in support of Rokde. They have written to the municipal commissioner, Subodh Kumar asking him to initiate an inquiry as they suspect foul play in the incident.