Mumbai's clean-up marshals caught trying to clean out coaching class owner

Some of the city’s clean-up marshals seem to be doing more than their assigned duty—‘cleaning out’ coaching class operators.

Two such marshals on contract with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were arrested on Friday by sleuths of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) while accepting a bribe from a coaching class operator. The BMC’s standing committee is now planning to take up the issue at its next meeting and demand that the marshals’ programme be scrapped.

The arrested duo has been identified as Sandeep Khatkar, a marshal, and Santosh Ghevde, his team leader.

According to the ACB, the victim had put up a banner advertising his coaching classes on a tree near Mahatma Phule Technical Junior College at Bhoiwada. On the basis of the address on the banner, Khatkar and Ghevde landed up at the victim’s office on May 15. They said they were BMC workers and flashed their legitimate ID cards.

“The duo then told the victim that he had not taken prior permission from the BMC to put up banner on the tree and asked the victim to pay a fine of Rs5,000,” said an ACB official, requesting anonymity.

He added that the amount was later settled at Rs1,500. “The victim managed to give Rs1,000, but the duo was adamant about taking the remaining Rs500, too. On May 18, victim received a call on his mobile phone from Sandeep, who had been pestering him for the money. The victim said he would call him back,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the thoroughly harassed victim registered a complaint with the ACB on May 20. “A trap was laid at the victim’s Dadar office on Friday. As decided, Khatkar and Ghevde arrived at the appointed time and were caught red-handed accepting the bribe. Further investigations are on in the case,” the official said.

Rahul Shewale, standing committee chairman, said “We were against the clean-up marshals, as they were behaving like goons and harassing people. The cleanliness bylaw is good in itself, but the implementation of it has not done correctly.”