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BMC wakes up, razes Sunil Shitap's illegal godown

The advocate says Shitap should be charged with MCOCA

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Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has risen up to take action against illegal constructions by Shiv Sena strongman Sunil Shitap. The N ward, on Friday, demolished Shitap's illegally constructed godown in Altaf Nagar on Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road (AGLR) after receiving a court order. The city civil court, five to six years ago, had already given a stay order for any construction by Shitap in Altaf nagar, and the locals had complained to BMC about this.

Shitap is currently in police custody in connection with the collapse of Sai Siddhi building in Ghatkopar that claimed 17 lives. Turn to P6

A letter written by a local activist to BMC's Chief Engineer Vigilance Department on January 5, 2017 (which is in DNA's possession) states that even after court's stay orders on three illegal structures in Altaf Nagar on AGLR, the structures were rented out. It requested BMC to seal the property till the final court's orders. However, BMC turned a blind eye to the complaint, say complainants.

Shitap allegedly had his eye on another plot on LBS road in Gangawadi. He approached the city civil court to protest against the stay on construction in Gangawadi, and on February 2016, the court ruled in Shitap's favour as the BMC did not appear in court nor filed a written statement to defend itself. On October 2016, Shitap allegedly tried to fix a ready-made structure overnight on the Gangawadi plot. Residents and then NCP corporator Pratiksha Gughe stopped the construction and Shitap filed a contempt of court against Ghuge.

An advocate and a resident of Ghatkopar told DNA that, "Shitap had strong nexus with the officers of BMC's Building & Factory department and the legal department of N ward. Officers Balkrishna Sale and Vishal Sakharkar and clerk Dinesh Karnik of the legal department were known to Shitap. They have carried many illegal construction activities. I had recently filed a five-page complaint against illegal construction in Ghatkopar, but Sakharkar took no action"

The advocate says Shitap should be charged with MCOCA. "He has a proper modus operandi where, through his team, he first locates a land, finds ownership details through RTI, grabs the land through his nexus and his illegal activities continue," the advocate said.

After he was named in the Ghatkopar building collapse, Shiv Sena released a press note saying Shitap was not related to the party.

"Locals alleged that Shitap threatened them with gun whenever they opposed to his alleged illegal alteration at Sai Siddhi. However, he does not have a gun license," Sachin Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 7, told DNA. "The police have recorded the statement of a resident who was threatened with a firearm by Shitap,"

A senior police official from Parksite police station said, "We have learnt about the involvement of a few civic officials in the building collapse. We have asked the civic body to submit to us all the documents related to Sai Siddhi and Shitap. We are also scrutinizing complaints filed by residents against Shitap at BMC offices."

BMC VISITS SITE

  • BMC's Additional Commissioner Vijay Singhal visited Sai Siddhi's site on Friday. He collected statements from the victims. Singhal and two other senior civic officers, Chandrashekar Chore and Vinod Chitore, have been asked by BMC chief Ajoy Mehta to submit a report of the collapse within 15 days from the incident.
     
  • "Not only Shitap," said Singhal, "We will take action against any illegal construction which comes to our notice. It was my first visit after the mishap and it is too early to comment. As the investigation progresses we will take action."
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