Controversial stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma on Monday came under immense pressure from the Opposition MNS and ruling BJP to reveal the names of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials who had allegedly demanded Rs5 lakh bribe from him apparently to regularize the “illegal” construction undertaken at his Andheri (west) row house.
While the MNS’ group leader in the BMC Sandeep Deshpande lodged a complaint against Sharma with the Versova police station under Section 176 of IPC for his failure to reveal the names of civic officials who had demanded bribe from him, BJP’s MlA Ram Kadam and his supporters staged a protest in front of Oshiwara police station demanding revelation of the names of BMC officials about whom the popular TV host had spoken about.
The twin developments came down on a day when the BMC, which has come under fire in the wake of Sharma’s much-discussed bribe tweet, came on a day when the BMC enlarged the scope of its crackdown against unauthorized constructions to look into large-scale major alterations allegedly carried out by Sharma, actor Infran Khan and others in another building at Goregaon and turned up heat on film and conversions of residential homes into studios at Versova’s Aaram Nagar locality in north Mumbai.
Talking to media persons after filing a complaint against Sharma, MNS’ Deshpande said, “Though my advocate, I filed a complaint against the TV host under Section 176 of IPC for failure to lodge a complaint against the civic officials who had demanded bribe from him”.
“Since the BMC officials are public servants, their act of demanding a bribe amounts to an offence under Section 36 of Cr PC. It is a duty of a person to lodge a complaint against that public servant with the authority concerned, and if he fails to perform to do so under Section 176 of IPC, it amounts to an offence,” Deshpande said.
Simultaneously, BJP legislator Ram Kadam who had earlier filed a complaint with the cyber cell of the Mumbai police on Friday within hours after Sharma put out two controversial tweets, staged a protest along with his supporters in front of the Oshiwara police station, demanding that the TV host reveal the names of the BMC officials who had demanded bribe from him.
The complaint filed by the MNS came on the heels of an application made by advovate Abha Singh demanding registration of an FIR against Sharma for alleged violations at his Andheri (west) row house.
It may be recalled that a fierce controversy had broke after Sharma had stirred up the hornet’s nest through his two controversial tweets to the Prime Minister that read: Yeh hain aapke achhe din IJ @narendramodi”… I am paying 15 cr income tax from last 5 year n still i have to pay 5 lacs bribe to BMC office for making my office @narendramodi”.
Meanwhile, the BMC is looking into the major structural alterations made by Sharma, actor Irfan Khan and others who own flats in a building developed by M/s Dev land and Housing Private limited. Sharma, Irfan and three other individual flat owners have been served notices by the BMC for alleged violation of building norms. The developer, who continues to possess 10 flats in the building, has also been issued a notice. Incidentally, this building was issued an Occupation Certificate (OC) by the BMC in 2013.
In a related development, the BMC is considering acting against at least unauthorized construction and major alternations made residential premises owners at Oshivara’s Aaram Nagar locality in line with the a verdict given by the Bombay High Court in December 2015. The BMC has since then pulled down 75 illegal structures. On its part, the State-run Maharashtra Housing And Development Authority (MHADA), which owns the land, had paid Rs 70 lakh to the BMC for undertaking demolitions.
This locality houses several such residential premises which have been illegally converted into studios, where several TV serials and commercials are shot on a day-to day basis.
According to a BMC survey, this locality 135 residential premises which include celebrities’ residences that have been converted into illegal studios or commercial premises. In a letter written to Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta some time back, Mumbai North West MP Gajanan Kirtikar of Shiv Sena said that there were such 52 residential premises at Aaram Nagar which have been converted illegally into studios.
Informed civic sources said that the BMC would come down with a heavy hand on the illegal constructions at Andheri and Goregaon after the Ganesh festivities.