Kapil Sharma's commercial office 'illegal'; notice sent to comedian in July, says BMC

Mumbai:  Allegations of bribe by Kapil Sharma has now backfired against him as the comedian-actor is now accused of illegally constructing a commercial property in a residential area in Versova regarding which a notice was sent by BMC to him in July. Sharma had alleged that he was asked to pay Rs 5 lakh bribe to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for his office, and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweets while asking if this was the "achche din" he promised. ABP News investigated about the property details in the Mhada colony and found that it was not allowed to build a commercial property near the Versova mangrove forest. It was also observed that a construction was going on the second floor of the building which also wasn’t permissible as it is one plus one open terrace property. Covering the floor with a ceiling was also illegal. Backyard of his plot was also extended.A notice was sent to Sharma in July which he did not respond to. According to BMC, mangroves mangroves were cut to extended the backside of the property. Also the inner loft of the property was constructed illegally. BMC gave him a stop work notice on 26th July, and on 4th August 2016, the illegal construction done on 1000 sq ft of area was demolished. BMC officer confirmed that they had demolished the illegal structure after giving a stop work notice to him. Social activist Rajesh Mudgal, who has been living in the particular area since 1998, asked how could Kapil Sharma build a 4000-sq ft commercial property in the 100 metre authorized residential plot. He blamed the BMC for allowing such an illegal construction. “This is a complete residential area and without BMC’s support no one can build a property like this. I don’t understand why he dragged PM Modi into this issue when he (Kapil Sharma) himself is at fault. He should have informed the ACB, Versova police station or the BMC ward and could have got the engineer arrested. There is no seriousness to his allegations,” Mudgal said. Meanwhile, the BMC also asked Sharma to reveal the name of the officer who allegedly demanded the bribe. "I have requested Kapil Sharmaji to reveal the name of the officer who demanded bribe so that we can initiate inquiry and appropriate action against him or her. We hope that he will cooperate with us. We have begun investigations into the matter," Manohar Pawar, chief engineer of vigilance department in BMC said in a press conference.