NEW DELHI: Fifteen NDMC, labour and police officials arrested for allegedly taking bribe and extorting money from businessmen were on Tuesday sent to judicial custody by a Delhi court.
Two betel shop owners, arrested along with the officials were remanded to two days' police custody.
Metropolitan Magistrate Siddharth Sharma sent two betel shop owners and brothers -- Chandeshwar Prasad Yadav and Shakal Prasad Yadav -- to police custody for allegedly acting as agents for the officials.
Seeking custodial remand of Yadav brothers, the ACB submitted that it had collected crucial evidence including audio-video material against the accused during a month-long sting operation.
"We are yet to recover a diary from the accused in which they mentioned names of the officials who were given bribe money on a regular basis. The diary can reveal some more names," the ACB officer said seeking their remand.
It also alleged that Yadav brothers, who ran a betel shop, used to act as agents for the accused officials of the NDMC and Labour.
The ACB had conducted the sting operation following a complaint by a Connaught Place businessman, Shiv Kumar Tiwari, who alleged that various officials of NDMC, Labour and the Police have been harassing him and fellow shopkeepers by confiscating goods and demanding money.
The shopkeepers were allegedly forced to pay sums ranging between Rs 500 to Rs 30,000 each as "protection money" on a monthly basis.
