388 grams gold, 1.48L cash seized from flat of NMMC Deputy Chief held for graft, suspended by Civic Chief

Navi Mumbai: The deputy municipal commissioner (Anti-encroachment dept) of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Dr Kailas Gaikwad, 53, who was arrested by the Navi Mumbai Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) team on Tuesday after being caught red-handed at his office in civic headquarters while allegedly accepting Rs 42,000 bribe from a sub-contractor, has been remanded in police custody of the ACB till April 24.NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde said, "A govt servant is automatically deemed to have been placed under suspension if he/she is remanded into police custody for more than 48 hours. Hence, DMC Kailas Gaikwad has been suspended as per the govt rules."Dharmaraj Sonake, deputy SP of Navi Mumbai ACB, informed that, after obtaining the accused DMC Gaikwad's police custody remand, his house search was done to ascertain whether he has amassed wealth disproportionate to his actual source of income during his tenure as a govt official. As part of the investigation, from his rental apartment in Nerul, we have seized 388 grams of gold ornaments and Rs 1.48 lakh cash. While, two flats — a 2BHK and a one-room kitchen in Nerul — are jointly registered in the name of Gaikwad and his spouse. At their ownership flat, Gaikwad's mother and brother reside."Meanwhile, during the tenure of former NMMC commissioner Tukaram Mundhe between May 2016 and March 2017, he suspended at least 10 NMMC officials for dereliction of duty and allegations of corruption. Dr Kailas Gaikwad, who was then an assistant municipal commissioner, was one of the officers suspended after inquiry of the anti-encroachment and transparency drive.