Additional charge to be taken away from Thane civic official facing graft charges

Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant on Tuesday said additional charge will be taken away from Mahesh Aher, assistant municipal commissioner of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), till the inquiry against him is completed.

Following criticism from the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP, the industries minister announced in the legislative Council that Aher's current responsibilities will be taken away till a probe against him is completed.

The civic official is facing allegations of corruption and has also been accused of threatening the family of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad.

Awhad had last month written to the police demanding that a case be registered against Aher for allegedly threatening his family in a viral audio clip.

In another unverified clip, Aher had allegedly said that he could dial Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's phone number any time and the latter would answer his call, it was stated.

Before Samant announced the civic official's removal in the House, Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Anil Parab and Shashikant Shinde of the NCP claimed that the state government in its written replies has admitted to Aher's involvement in corruption, but had not taken any action against him.

The silence maintained over Aher's claim that he can call the chief minister any time, raised doubts about the latter, Shinde said.

He further alleged that the civic official had hired private body guards and sought to know how he was able to afford it.

"There have been several complaints against Aher, including allegations that his degree certificate is fake. There should be a thorough probe into this matter," Parab said.

Responding to Parab's query, Samant said, "Aher is holding some additional charges. His additional charges will be removed. The state government is carrying out various inquiries against him and those will continue." NCP leader Eknath Khadse asked why the civic official had not been suspended and if there was any vested interest in protecting him.

NCP MLA and former housing minister Awhad said, "Basically, Mahesh Aher is a deputy superintendent-level officer. How come he was given the charge of an assistant civic commissioner and that too for five consecutive years? Thane municipal commissioner Abhijeet Bangar must have read the rule book related to administration. For how long you can give charge of a post to one person.'' The MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa in Thane city sought to corner the civic body over Aher's appointment and asked, "Are there any rules or has the TMC decided to ignore all rules of administration?" The former minister said the civic official should be sent back to his original post.

"Aher should be sent back to his original posting of deputy superintendent. We can address other issues later. Hope other officials' palms are not greased to send him (Aher) back to his original posting," Awhad said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)