Priti Pathak
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Thane has booked 12 people including five of Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) officials in a property tax collection scam case. Among them five accused are former Deputy Municipal Commissioners (DMC).
On May 21, ACB officials registered FIR under sections 13 (1), (D) with 13 (2) of ACB acts in Central Police Station, Ulhasnagar against Ashok Narayan Bageshwar, Milind Bhalchandra Sawant, P D Kolekar, Haresh Chandrabhan Indnani, Sanjay Dusane and Amar Reddy and his six staff members. Bageshwar, Sawant Kolekar, Indnani and Dusane are the former Deputy Municipal Commissioners and now posted in deferent sections in Maharashtra government. Amar Reddy is a personal aide and director of Computer Ads Company. Reddy’s six other employees have been also booked in to the matter.
According to ACB press note the scam was unearthed in audit reports in 2010. Then matter was handed over to the ACB for further investigation.
During investigation ACB officials found that the accused had misused their powers. 1974 property owners had applied that their tax should not be collected on new property rate. The accused agreed and collected tax on old rate. For this they showed loss of Rs 4, 44, 54,503 to the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC).
One of the senior councilor from Shiv Sena party Rajendrasingh Bhullar “Maharaj” had raised the questions in general body meeting against this corruption.