A 70-year old Vakola resident who was busy replacing tiles in his kitchen on Friday, was in for a rude shock when two men, claiming to be Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, barged into his house and demanded one lakh rupees as a fine for carrying out an 'illegal' civil work.
The man, identified as Mohammed Patel who is an activist and a member of Voice of Kalina (VOK) — a citizen forum, then lodged a complaint against the duo at Vakola police station on Saturday.
"I was in my bedroom when these men forcefully entered my house. We were startled. They claimed to be from BMC and ordered the workers to stop working. When I asked them for identity proof, they failed to provide any," said Patel, who lives in Golden Apartments at Vakola with his wife.
Claiming that the tile-repairing work being carried out was illegal, the duo demanded one lakh rupees.
Patel immediately contacted his lawyer who advised him to seek the copy of the BMC notice from the duo.
"None of them were carrying any notice. They claimed to furnish it within an hour. They soon changed their stance and started demanding Rs 50,000 as a settlement amount," said Patel who added that the duo soon left his house.
The faces of these men can be seen in the CCTV footage, acquired by the Patels, which has been made part of their complaint.
Meanwhile, the locals in the building, including the Secretary claimed to have seen these men in the area multiple times before. "They have extorted money from other residents in our building in December for dumping debris on the footpath," said a member from the society who did not wish to be named.
Speaking to DNA, Ashok Khairnar Assistant Municipal Commissioner, H/East Ward said, "None of our staff was sent to the concerned society on Friday for inspection, neither have we received any complaints regarding this issue." However, the BMC assured to look into the matter and has called Patel for a meeting on Monday.
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Two men, claiming to be BMC officials, barged into the house and demanded one lakh rupees as a fine for carrying out an ‘illegal’ civil work. When asked for ID proof andcopy of the BMC notice, they failed to produce any
