Thane civic body bribery case: Complainant gets threat calls, case registered

Thane, Oct 17 (PTI) The complainant in the Thane Municipal Corporation bribery case, in which a deputy commissioner has been arrested along with two associates, allegedly received threats over phone, after which a case was registered, police officials said on Friday.

Deputy municipal commissioner Shankar Patole, who was heading the TMC's Encroachment Control and Eviction Department, was arrested during a raid carried out by the Anti Corruption Bureau on October 1 on the complaint of real estate developer Abhijit Kadam. Two others were also held in the case.

Kadam, who holds development rights for a plot in Vishnu Nagar in Naupada, had accused Patole of seeking a bribe concerning a property development that involved the unauthorized construction of three shops. Kadam claimed he had already paid Rs 10 lakh to Patole through on of the arrested accused.

Police sources said the complainant received the threat calls on Thursday while he was being questioned at the ACB office.

"He recorded the conversations and submitted them to the ACB, which in turn approached the Thane police, following which a case was registered against unidentified persons under section 351(3) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with criminal intimidation," the sources said. PTI COR BNM