29 August,2024 06:58 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation
The Thane police have registered a sexual assault case against a senior official from the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC). The case was filed by a female employee of the UMC, who accused the official of inappropriate behaviour. However, senior officials allege that the complaint was lodged because the accused did not support a hoarding contractor, and had instead imposed a fine on him. The officials further claim that the complainant was backing the contractor and is now under internal investigation.
According to the police, the complainant is a 42-year-old woman employed as a clerk with the UMC. In her police report, she alleges that the senior official made lewd comments and attempted to get closer to her between 2023 and 2024. Despite her attempts to distance herself from these inappropriate advances, she claims the official continued to misbehave. Following the incident, she lodged a written complaint with the UMC's âVisakha Committee,' which investigated the matter and submitted its report on September 5, 2023. However, the victim claims that the then Commissioner Aziz Shaikh did not act on the report.
The woman also stated in her complaint that the official tried to harass her by repeatedly transferring her.
The senior official has denied all allegations, claiming that the female employee wanted a transfer back to her previous department. "She supported a hoarding company that had been fined Rs 41 lakh by the UMC. She approached me requesting that the fine be reduced. When I refused, the case was filed as a form of retaliation."
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The accused in his statement to the police said this is a scam involving the clerk and an advertising agency.
"In connection with this, an audit process was initiated in 2023. During this audit, it was discovered that the involved advertising agency had engaged in multiple violations, including erecting hoardings without proper permission and embezzling municipal corporation revenue. Consequently, penal action was taken against the agency, and a case was registered against them for exceeding the permitted amount of advertisements two or threefold," said the accused UMC official.
He added, "Certain individuals within the office have made baseless allegations to avoid administrative actions resulting from this audit and other recent incidents. Before the Ghatkopar incident, the scam within the advertisement department had been forwarded for audit. Following the Ghatkopar hoarding incident, the municipal corporation took action against unauthorised hoardings in the city, which led to criminal charges being filed. As a result, there was significant pressure to reverse the actions taken and reinstate the concerned individuals in the department. However, when this pressure was resisted, a case was filed by disgruntled individuals in retaliation."
A committee chaired by the commissioner of the municipal corporation has been formed to investigate these irregularities. Additionally, the complaint made by the concerned individual is currently under review by the Visakha Committee.
Rs 41l
Fine issued by UMC on the advertising company
