Tainted PWD officer has Rs 2-cr assets
MUMBAI: Searches by the Pune anti-corruption bureau (ACB) at the residences of a PWD executive engineer from Sangli have revealed assets worth Rs
2.17 crore. Ashok Bhalkar was arrested on March 5 while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a contractor, Santosh Salunke.
2.17 crore. Ashok Bhalkar was arrested on March 5 while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a contractor, Santosh Salunke.
At Bhalkar’s private residence in Kolhapur, ACB sleuths found Rs 18 lakh in fixed deposits, Rs 57 lakh in term deposits with co-operative societies, LIC policies worth Rs 15 lakh, Rs 37 lakh in property investments and Rs 33,500 in cash. A search at his official residence in Sangli revealed Rs 3.93 lakh in cash and assets worth 86.07 lakh.
Salunke takes contracts for private and civil constructions since 1995. At present, he has two underconstruction contract, a flyover bridge between Vashee and Ladegaav villages and road repair work. The tender notices for these construction projects were issued by the PWD (West Zone) in 2008 and 2009 in Sangli. Salunke had filled the tenders in the name of his friend’s construction firm, following which he bagged the projects.
Executive engineers in the PWD supervise construction projects done by contractors, and after scrutiny, sanction bills are submitted by them. Contractors have to adhere to instructions given by the engineer to maintain quality control and ensure completion of work on time.
At times, they have to give in to unreasonable demands made by the engineers. If a contractor does not meet an engineer’s demands, the latter could victimise him by citing technical problems in his work.
In Salunke’s case, Bhalkar would demand a commission before sanctioning pending bills. As his money was held up, Salunke had to raise funds from the market.
When Salunke personally met Bhalkar, the latter demanded Rs 5 lakh as commission for construction work done by Salunke in the past and for sanctioning bills to be submitted to him. Salunke pleaded that his percentage profit had reduced due to worsened market conditions.
When Salunke tried to negotiate the amount, Bhalkar threatened not to grant him any further construction projects. Salunke requested for a month’s time to arrange for the bribe amount. He then registered a complaint with the Pune unit of ACB against Bhalkar on March 3.
On March 5, the ACB laid a trap at Bhalkar’s residence, where he had summoned Salunke with the bribe amount. Bhalkar was caught red-handed by the cops.