H-West health official tipped off Door No. 1, which flouted fire safety norms, ahead of raids whenever civic body tried to take action
Sudhir Salunkhe
Snitching on the job has left BMC medical officer of health (H-West ward) Dr Sudhir Salunkhe suspended from it. Salunkhe is in the dock for allegedly tipping off restaurant and eatery owners about the action his ward office was planning against them.
The suspension order, which will be in place until a departmental inquiry is completed against Salunkhe, was passed around 20 days ago by assistant municipal commissioner of H-West ward Sharad Ughade. According to a source, the civic body had received complaints from citizens about Salunkhe's tactics of tipping off eatery owners about BMC's impending action. Moreover, senior officials from H-West ward had also found cases where Salunkhe's role was suspicious. According to a BMC official, they found at least three to four such cases of restaurants being tipped off, which included eateries in the ONGC lane at Bandra Reclamation, where Salunkhe had leaked information on BMC action to benefit owners.
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Blatantly violating
A source said, "Restaurants in the ONGC lane were blatantly violating fire safety and health licence norms. Despite multiple complaints from citizens, the civic body was slow to act. Many times, these restaurant owners were informed in advance about the action on illegalities."
mid-day had published a series of reports in February and March about the restaurants in that lane that were violating fire safety and health licence norms. There were about 10 eateries there, and the licences of some, like Door No 1, Broaster Chicken, Candies, Doollaly, were suspended after mid-day's reports exposed them. Back then, too, Salunkhe's role had been under the scanner for failing to take strict action against these eateries. A combination of all these factors led to the suspension.
Speaking about allegations against Salunkhe, ONGC lane resident Kaushal Bhatia said, "Us residents have always thought that such level of illegal activity wouldn't have been possible without collusion of this sort from H-West ward officials. We urge the authorities to now act."
Run deeper
According to officials, Salunkhe was initially suspended for seven days following complaints from citizens. In the course of the inquiry into those allegations, it emerged that the complaints run deeper. After this, civic authorities decided to extend his suspension till the departmental inquiry was completed. A BMC officer said they might escalate this to the Anti-Corruption Bureau if they find a financial angle behind these tip-offs.
Ughade has sent Salunkhe's suspension and departmental inquiry proposal to deputy municipal commissioner of the health department, Sunil Dhamne. Dhamne confirmed to mid-day about receiving the proposal. Ughade and Salunkhe remained unavailable for comment.
Also Read: Mumbai: BMC Pulls Down Shutters On Illegal Bandra Restobar That Violated Fire Safety Norms
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