Mumbai: Two officials suspended after mid-day report creates shor in House

Bhagirathi Rama Mukne, the tribal woman whose details were used to pose for a dead woman; (inset) Balasaheb Wakchaure, Bhiwandi SDO. Pics/Hanif Patel

Two top revenue officials including Bhiwandi Sub-Divisional Officer and his predecessor have been suspended in connection with an impersonation case. mid-day was the first to report the case where a tribal woman's details were fraudulently used as that of a dead woman's to claim government compensation of over Rs 90 lakh. The report on November 8 prompted the authorities concerned to file an FIR on November 16. The suspensions came after BJP leader Pravin Darekar mentioned the case during the Winter Session on Tuesday.

After Darekar raised this issue, Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil announced the suspension of the two officials and said that a divisional commissioner has been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. An offence will be registered on the basis of the report.

Mukne's house in Dugad village, Bhiwandi taluka. Pics/Hanif Patel

Bhiwandi SDO Balasaheb Wakchaure and his predecessor Mohan Naladkar are the two who have been suspended for their alleged involvement in the case and for helping the conmen claim the compensation. Both officials are likely to be booked and arrested soon.

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When contacted, Wakchaure said, "I am innocent. I have been made a scapegoat in this issue. The cheque was undersigned by Mohan Naladkar, not me."

Bhagirathi Rama Mukne, had gone missing when the police probe started but has resurfaced since; (right) Former Bhiwandi SDO Mohan Naladkar has been suspended in connection with the case

Calls and messages to Naladkar went unanswered.

So far, six people, including the sarpanch of Dugad village in Bhiwandi taluka, have been arrested in the case.

The con

Bhagirathi Rama Mukne, a 73-year-old tribal woman from Dugad village in Bhiwandi, was duped by fraudsters who used her details to impersonate a dead woman to claim government compensation of over R90 lakh for land. The government acquired the land for Mumbai-Vadodara Highway works. As the owner of the land was deceased, some conmen roped in Mukne's relatives and used her details to claim the compensation.

Mukne learnt of the fraud after getting notices from the SDO asking her to return R32 lakh, which was mistakenly sent to her account while disbursing the compensation.

mid-day has in earlier reports highlighted how the fraudsters, allegedly in connivance with some government officers, used Mukne's documents and biometric details to show a dead woman, Thaki Sakhya Savar, as alive and made fake Aadhaar card, bank accounts and other relevant documents.

The Thane police took cognisance of mid-day's report and arrested six people including the sarpanch of the village. Those arrested include sarpanch Rajesh Bhoir, Mukne's grandson Bhushan Ashok Nandviskar, Moreshwar Chandrakant Patil, Sudhakar Sakharam Gundolkar, Anis Momin and Mohammad Tahaa. Three of these accused belong to the same village. However, after the police crackdown began following mid-day's story, Mukne had gone missing for a few days but she resurfaced later. She is currently living in her village.

Balaram Bhoir, general secretary of Shramjeevi Sanghatana which fights for the rights of tribals in Maharashtra, told mid-day that his organisation had also sent a complaint letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "Based on our complaint letter, the CM asked Thane Collector to conduct an enquiry. However, an FIR was registered only after mid-day published the story. Six people, including the village sarpanch, were arrested in the case. But all of them were private people while no government officials were booked despite sufficient evidence against them," Bhoir said.

After mid-day's first report on this issue, Bhiwandi Rural MLA Shantaram More and Bhiwandi West MLA Mahesh Chougule, too, wrote to the chief minister to look into the matter. Vivek Pandit, chairman of Tribal Development Review Committee, Maharashtra, said, "There is an ongoing racket in the office of SDO, Bhiwandi. We welcome the suspension of these two officers but it is not enough just to suspend them. Other officers involved in this racket should also be exposed. Also, the corrupt officers must be booked and punished within the ambit of law."

06
No. of arrests made in the case so far