Nude parade of engineer rocks PMC

Kapoor, however, maintained that the report received by him this afternoon from the divisional ward officer B G Agawne gave enough indications of Shirke8217;s involvement in the reported episode that has maligned the PMC8217;s image.

Agawne has named Shirke in the report although mentioning that the junior engineer has not complained to him either verbally or in writing about the incident. Shirke, who is on an extended leave, also denied his involvement when Agawne contacted him at his residence over the telephone, Kapoor told media persons.

Acting on the report, Kapoor has ordered civic health department chief Anil Ravetkar, who is also incharge of the Bhavani Peth divisional ward office, to issue written orders to Shirke to report on duty immediately. 8220;He has to report because he has proceeded on medical leave without even following the procedure.8221;

Besides asking for a detailed report on the incident, Kapoor has also sought the confidential reports of Shirke during the past five years and the status and quality of the civic works that led to a dispute between the junior engineer and the corporator.

Kapoor said that the junior engineer prima facie appeared to be at fault. His track record was also unsatisfactory. In fact, the incident seems to be a fallout of an alleged dispute between Shirke and the corporator over sharing the payoffs on a Rs two lakh contract for laying water conduits and erecting a shed over a public tap in Bhavani Peth area, Kapoor confirmed.In view of this, Kapoor said he had also ordered to freeze payments for the contract work. The report from the divisional ward officer did not mention the name of the contractor or the details of the ward-wise funds being utilised for laying the water conduits. Kapoor has sought these details by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Mayor Vatsala Andekar said that if a corporator had assaulted an officer as reported by a local Marathi daily, she would not hesitate to condemn it. The PMC Engineers8217; Association has condemned the incident even while making it clear that it had no intentions to protect the culprits.

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