Shiv Sena corporator caught red handed while accepting Rs 16,000 bribe, arrested
Shiv Sena corporator Hemangi Chemburkar. Picture Courtesy: ABP Majha
A Shiv Sena corporator and her personal assistant were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday for accepting Rs 16,000 bribe from a hotel owner in Sewri.
Hemangi Chemburkar (55), a Sena corporator from ward 199 and chairman of the ward committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and her personal assistant Rajaram Redkar (28) had demanded Rs 25,000 bribe from the hotelier.
The corporator had sought the bribe for not taking action against him on complaint received by the committee, said an ACB official.
After negotiations, the amount was cut down to Rs 16,000 – Rs 15,000 for the corporator and Rs 1,000 for the PA. Once the transaction was finalized, the hotel owner contacted contacted the ACB.
In his complaint, the hotelier alleged that he was harassed by Chemburkar repeatedly over the past few weeks. Finally, Redkar spoke to him and demanded a bribe to make the alleged complaints about illegal encroachment go away.
On the basis of his complaint, the ACB laid a trap and arrested Chemburkar and Redkar red-handed while accepting the bribe.
According to reports, Chemburkar has harassed more commercial establishments in the wards. The duo have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Incidentally, Praja NGO had named Chemburkar as one of the top three corporators for 2015-16. The ranking had been decided based on factors like perception, attendance, participation, accessibility etc – all of which were obtained from the BMC via RTI.
Although Chemburkar is not contesting the civic elections this time, her involvement is bound to provide ammunition to former ally BJP, who has been targeting the Shiv Sena over rampant corruption in the BMC.
Party sources have confirmed that Sena has also initiated action against Chemburkar following the incident.
