Navi Mumbai: Kailas Gaikwad, the 53-year-old deputy municipal commissioner (anti-encroachment department) of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), who was arrested last week by the Navi Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a corruption case, was granted bail by the Belapur District Sessions Court on Monday.
Gaikwad was caught red-handed at his office at NMMC headquarters while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 42,000 from a sub-contractor. He was arrested and remanded to ACB custody until April 24. Since Gaikwad was in police custody for more than 48 hours, NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde suspended him in accordance with government rules.
Dharmaraj Sonake, deputy superintendent of police of Navi Mumbai ACB, stated, "We sought Gaikwad's police custody remand for two days. Thereafter, the Belapur court remanded him to magistrate custody, where he applied for bail, which was granted by the court on Monday."
He added, "During the search at Gaikwad's rental apartment in Nerul, we seized 388 grams of gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 45 lakh and Rs 1.48 lakh in cash. Two flats — a 2BHK and a one-room kitchen in Nerul — are jointly registered in the name of Gaikwad and his spouse. We are further investigating whether Gaikwad has amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. Additionally, a letter has been sent to the NMMC commissioner requesting an inquiry into ward officers and engineers of the anti-encroachment department, who worked under Gaikwad's supervision, to determine if he involved them in other bribery demands from civic contractors in their respective nodes."
