01 April,2017 12:40 PM IST | | Santosh Wagh
He was the final authority to clear all Class IV job application files; allegedly charged Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 for each clearance
Vijay Kumar Kaskar, chief supervisor of solid waste management department
Vijay Kumar Kaskar, chief supervisor of solid waste management department
The crime branch unit III has swept up one of the big fish of the 2015 sweeper scam. It arrested on Wednesday one of the seniormost BMC supervisors, Vijay Kumar Kaskar, for having allegedly signed off on bogus applications for Class IV jobs in the civic body over five years.
Kaskar (57), chief supervisor of solid waste management department, was the final authority on clearing all files related to job applications of Class IV and allegedly took a cut of R10,000-15,000 from each applicant. Each applicant allegedly forked out R50,000-60,000, which was then distributed through the chain of scamsters.
mid-day's reports on Nov 7. Graphic/Ravi Jadhav
Inspector Sanjay Nikumbe of unit III, crime branch, said Kaskar had been evading the authorities since the police trained their guns on him. "He was on sick leave and was trying to apply for anticipatory bail. He kept changing his location. So, it became difficult for us to arrest him. We finally arrested him on Wednesday following a tip-off."
Kaskar was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till April 5.
mid-day's reports on Dec 4, 2015. Graphic/Ravi Jadhav
Class IV employees in the department largely comprise sweepers. The police investigation has unearthed that BMC sweepers acted as agents and fraudulently recruited sweepers in the solid waste management department by making them pose as the relatives of deceased/retired employees.
Immediate family members of a deceased/retired Class IV employee can claim a job in the BMC under compassionate grounds. This provision was exploited by the scamsters. They created false identities of applicants and forged relevant documents to show that the candidates were related to deceased/retired employees.
mid-day's reports on as well as Jan 5 this year. Graphic/Ravi Jadhav
The crime branch filed a chargesheet in the case last year. They are expected to file a supplementaty chargesheet soon. The scam was busted after a social worker, Shivprasad Tiwari, met a sweeper in 2015 who had landed the job using fraudulent means.
