BMC official in ACB net for taking bribe from sweepers ……S Ahmed Ali I TNN
Officials of the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday arrested a BMC supervisor accepting a bribe of Rs 3,000. The accused, Khimji Nanji Boricha, is in charge of the attendance of sweepers in south Mumbai’s D ward, comprising plush areas such as Nepean Sea Road and Pedder Road.
According to sources, Boricha used to sign the attendance muster on behalf of some BMC sweepers who bunked work. Most of these sweepers, claims a source, have taken up jobs at housing societies in the area. However, since Boricha was marking these sweepers present, they got full monthly salary of Rs 12,000. Boricha, in turn, took Rs 3,000 from each sweeper as commission.
Nearly three dozen sweepers sign the muster, maintained by Boricha, every day. A sweeper, who needed a months’ leave to attend to some personal matters, blew the lid off Boricha’s dealings. After being denied leave because he couldn’t cough up Rs 3,000, the sweeper decided to report Boricha’s activities to the ACB.
The sweeper, accompanied by an independent witness, approached Boricha again for leave on March 8 this year. Boricha once again asked him to shell out Rs 3,000 to avail of the leave. On Thursday, officials of the ACB laid a trap and caught Boricha red handed.