Representative image of a registered FIR.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officer and nabbed two persons for seeking Rs 2 crore bribe from a property developer in exchange of not razing illegal floors of his building, officials said on Wednesday.
The main accused was identified as Mandar Ashok Tari, a designated officer of the BMC's K East Ward office in Andheri East, an official said.
Two private persons, Mohammed Shahjada Yasin Shah and Pratik Vijay Pise (both 33), were apprehended by the Mumbai ACB on Tuesday while they were collecting Rs 75 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe amount, he said, adding that Tari is a wanted accused in the case.
The property developer in the case had constructed two illegal floors in his four-storey building at Ghatkopar, the official said.
Tari demanded Rs 2 crore bribe from the developer for not razing the illegal floors and also promised to help him in future to protect his illegal construction on the plot, where the developer was planning to construct another building, the official said.
However, the developer approached the ACB and lodged a complaint against Tari on July 31, he said.
A verification was done by the anti-graft agency, in which it found that the BMC officer gave his nod to accept Rs 75 lakh as the first instalment.
"The ACB laid a trap and apprehended Shah and Pise while accepting Rs 75 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe," he said.
A case under relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against BMC officer Tari and two apprehended accused persons, he said adding the probe was underway.