Mumbai court refuses bail to BMC officer held in bribery case

Mumbai, Jan 7 (PTI) A local court on Tuesday denied bail to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official arrested for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore as bribe for not acting against an unauthorised construction in the western suburbs.

Mandar Ashok Tari, a designated officer of the BMC's K East ward in suburban Andheri, surrendered before Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on December 19.

He was later placed under arrest by the anti-graft agency, which said his aides had collected Rs 75 lakh as the first instalment of the bribe amount nine months ago.

The 43-year-old civic bureaucrat had filed a bail plea, but it was rejected by special ACB judge Shashikant Bangar.

A detailed order was not available yet.

As per the probe agency, Tari had allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore as bribe from a man to stop an eviction action and allow an unauthorised construction.

Based on the man's complaint, the Mumbai ACB registered a case against the BMC officer under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In August, the ACB laid a trap and arrested two persons who allegedly collected the first instalment of Rs 75 lakh on Tari's behalf, the probe agency said. PTI AVI RSY