Mumbai: BMC officers gave our contact info to those we exposed, say activists

Mohammed Imran Shaikh has repeatedly complained about this illegal settlement in Malwani, which is being rebuilt after demolition

A day after mid-day reported how BMC chief Ajoy Mehta was left red-faced after RTI activists sent him a list of corrupt civic officials, the social crusaders were allegedly bombarded with calls offering bribes to withdraw their complaints against illegal constructions. The activists alleged that municipal officials had leaked their contact numbers in a bid to trap them in corruption cases.

"A day after mid-day published the news, I started getting calls from unknown numbers. One of the callers told me that a P-north ward official had given my number to him. He offered a bribe to settle the complaint I had lodged with the BMC, but I refused and disconnected the call," recalled Mohammed Imran Shaikh, a whistle-blower who had featured in mid-day's report on the activist-BMC feud on August 16.

A day after which the activists started getting bribery calls

"Since Ajoy Mehta was appointed as the municipal commissioner, he always tried to humiliate activists rather than taking action on their complaints," added Shaikh. This paper reported how the civic chief ordered officials to draw up a list of activists who frequently used the Right To Information (RTI) Act to lodge complaints against builders and contractors, indicating that they were attempting to extort money from the developers.

'Who leaked our info?'
The RTI crusaders retaliated with a tongue-in-cheek list of 100-odd civic officials caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) during Mehta's tenure. Now, they have alleged that the red-faced BMC is trying to frame them for corruption, by leaking their numbers to the builders they had complained against.

Mohammed Imran Shaikh shared pictures showing a chawl being demolished at ward number 33 in Malwani on August 2 after his complaint, and the same settlement being constructed in August

"When we filed the complaint with BMC officials, how did the builders get our names and numbers? And if civic officials are claiming extortion, they can easily impede any bribery by quickly taking action on genuine complaints," added Shaikh, who has repeatedly complained about a chawl being built at ward number 33 in Malwani, Malad (P-north ward). After his complaint, it was demolished on August 2, but was up again in a matter of days (see pics).

"Being an activist, I expose various illegal and unauthorised rampant constructions, which are regularly carried out by slumlords and land grabbers in collusion with officials of BMC and the deputy collector's office. I was left with no choice but to file a public interest litigation, in which the court had also passed an order in September 2016," said Shaikh, who has since submitted an e-complaint with the Mumbai Police, as well as a written complaint to the Malwani police station and police commissioner.

Non-stop calls, texts
Another activist, Jamal Shaikh, said he was offered R40,000 to drop his complaint. "I received messages from an unknown number, offering R40,000 to settle the matter. I immediately blocked that number and sent a written complaint to the Anti-Corruption Bureau as well as Mumbai Police Commissioner. I have appealed for an FIR to be registered in the matter against the BMC officials."

A third activist, Sanjay Singh, has also been bombarded with calls from unknown numbers. "I do not pick up such calls anyway, but since we spoke out against the BMC, I have got even more from unknown numbers this week, to settle complaints that I have no memory of," added Singh, president of the Lok Vasundhara Samiti.

100
Approximate number of corrupt civic officials the activists had listed

Rs 40k
Bribe offered to one of the RTI activists

Cops dismiss graft case
An officer from Malwani police station confirmed that there was an attempt to register a case of corruption against one of the activists named in mid-day's report. Since there was no evidence in the matter, the plaintiff was turned away.

Also Read: Mumbai: RTI Activists Vs BMC Row Escalates

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