Rs30 lakh bribe sought for okaying 70m-plus tower in Mumbai

A city-based developer (name withheld) had planned to build a high-rise taller than 70m at Matunga. To get the project going, he needed the nod of the high-rise building committee (HRBC) of the state urban development department. Accordingly, he placed his project proposal before the committee.

An HRBC member told the developer that he will have to pay Rs30 lakh to get his project okayed, and another Rs1 crore for the seven other proposals he had placed before the committee. The developer gave in and agreed to make an initial payment of Rs15 lakh to the men the HRBC member would be sending to his house. And then, he alerted the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of the Mumbai police.

It had been agreed that the developer will make the first payment on Monday, May 17. Officers of the ACB were waiting at the developer's house when two persons, Jahaanbeen Jumatiya alias Shaju and Kunal Dhuri, came to collect the money on behalf  of the HRBC member, Shailesh Mahimtura. The duo was caught red-handed. Later, Mahimtura was also arrested.

An ACB officer said the developer had approached the HRBC with his proposal on April 9. Almost a fortnight later, on April 23, HRBC chief financial officer Uday Tatkare and members Tarun Kant and Shantilal Jain, along with a municipal official, Chaudhary (first name not known), visited the site at Matunga.

"Chaudhary told the developer that Mahimtura will be visiting his plot, and the latter did so on April 27. He asked the developer to meet him at his office," the ACB officer said.

On April 30, the developer went to Mahimtura's office. "Mahimtura told him to pay up Rs30 lakh to secure permission for his high-rise from the HRBC. He also told the developer that to get his other seven proposals okayed by the committee, an additional payment of Rs1 crore will have to be made," the ACB officer said.

The builder agreed to make the payments, and on May 11, he lodged a complaint against Mahimtura with the ACB. "Making inquiries, we came to know that Mahimtura had indeed demanded the bribe, and was supposed to send Shaju and Dhuri to the developer's Mahim residence to collect the first payment of Rs15 lakh on May 17," the officer said.

"On Monday, a trap was laid at the developer's residence. The moment Shaju and Dhuri came and took the money on behalf of Mahimtura, we nabbed them. We then went to Mahimtura's office to arrest him. Investigations are on,' additional commissioner of police (ACB) Niket Kaushik said.