2 BMC engineers held for accepting Rs10 lakh bribe from builder

Two engineers from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs10 lakh from a builder. The engineers from H-west ward had demanded Rs41 lakh for not taking action against the builder's firm under the BMC Act.

The arrested duo has been identified as Sandeep Rajput (42), assistant engineer, and Pushkar Meshram (35), junior engineer, both working in the Buildings & Factories Department of H-west ward in Bandra (West).

According to the ACB, the complainant has various ongoing construction projects in Santa Cruz. A complaint was received by the H-west ward office against the complainant alleging that he was into illegal construction. A notice was then served by the H-west ward office to the complainant as per the BMC Act.

"In order to not take any action as per the notice, Rajput and Meshram had demanded a bribe of Rs41 lakh from the complainant, who then approached the ACB against the BMC officials. On Friday, a trap was laid on the premises of the complainant's office, where Rajput and Meshram were arrested while accepting the first instalment of Rs10 lakh from the victim," said an ACB official.