A Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) deputy commissioner was held by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in connection with a Rs 25 lakh bribery case and on Thursday remanded into police custody till October 4, reported the PTI.

A private individual, arrested along with the deputy civic commissioner was also remanded to police custody, officials said.

The accused, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Shankar Patole, who was in charge of the TMC’s anti-encroachment department, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau along with Omkar Gaikar, a private person, during a trap operation at the TMC headquarters on Wednesday, according to the PTI.

The duo were produced before Additional Sessions Judge VG Mohite on Thursday. After hearing the arguments made by the ACB, the court granted police custody till October 4.

While advocate Vishal Bhanushali represented Patole, advocate Jayesh Tikhe appeared for Gaikar, the ns agency reported.

A third accused, Sushant Surve, also named in the First Information Report (FIR), is currently absconding, officials said.

The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Further investigations in the matter were underway, said officials. 

The ACB sought the custody of the duo on various grounds, including for carrying out further probe into the matter and locate the third accused.

The arrests came after a probe was launched following a complaint by a real estate developer to the Mumbai ACB saying that a Thane civic official (Patole) had allegedly demanded Rs 35 lakh as bribe for removing an encroachment on his premises in the city.

The complainant claimed that he had already paid a sum of Rs 10 lakh to the official through Surve. However further the suspects demand had increased and were asking for more money to settle the matter, sources said.

The builder was handing over the remaining Rs 25 lakh to Gaikar in the cabin of Patole at the TMC headquarters when the ACB trapped the duo and arrested them.

According to the PTI, the ACB acted on a complaint and caught the suspects red handed.

Interestingly, the arrests took place on the 43rd anniversary of the Thane Municipal Corporation.

(with PTI inputs)

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