Five Thane civic staffers booked as key development proposal file goes missing

Thane, Dec 7 (PTI) Five Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) employees have been booked after a crucial development proposal file went missing from the civic body's Town Planning department, a police official said on Sunday.

The issue of the missing file surfaced for the first time 18 months ago after a resident filed a Right to Information plea seeking certified copies of the documents linked to the proposal, the Naupada police station official said.

"After the RTI applicant filed a first appeal with Konkan bench of the State Information Commission (SIC), a probe began, during which the TMC said the file was untraceable. The TMC later filed an affidavit claiming the file went missing due to negligence of junior employees," he said.

The persons booked on the complaint of a TMC executive engineer include a record keeper and peon who died in November 2022, another record keeper and peon as well as two clerks, the official said.

"They have been charged under Maharashtra Public Records Act 2005. The offence is believed to have taken place between January 27, 2022 and December 4 this year. A probe is on and no arrest has been made in the case," he added. PTI COR BNM