Zirakpur councillor, husband booked on 'extortion' charge

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 21

The police have booked a Zirakpur MC councillor and her husband on a charge of extorting Rs 9 lakh from a resident of Sector 2. They have been identified as councillor Neha Sharma and her husband, Mony Sharma, both residents of Ward No. 5 in Baltana.

Shivam Arora, a resident of Sector 2, Panchkula, in his complaint lodged with the police, said he, along with his three partners, got a building map passed for constructing shops with a basement, ground floor and first floor from the Municipal Committee, Zirakpur, on April 23, 2021. When they started the construction work, Neha and Moni arrived at the site and asked the workers to stop the work, saying that the map had not been passed by the MC. Next day, he showed the couple the map approved by the Zirakpur MC but the latter told him that he was carrying out illegal construction.

When we continued with the construction, Neha and Mony, accompanied by MC officials, got the work stopped. He met the Zirakpur Municipal Engineer (ME), Mukesh Ram, on May 15, 2020, and apprised him of the matter. The ME told Neha that the map had been approved by the MC. Later, the couple met him and his father in Zirakpur and told them that if they wanted to continue with the construction, they would have to pay Rs 15 lakh till June, the complainant alleged.

His father agreed to pay Rs 2-3 lakh. The deal was finally settled for Rs 9 lakh. His father gave them Rs 9 lakh in instalments till the completion of construction. However, the couple demanded Rs 10 lakh more and threatened that they would get the building demolished if the money was not paid. On July 29, the duo got the shops demolished, alleged Arora. He said he came to know about the incident after some people sent him a video of demolition operations.

A case under Sections 120-B and 384 of the IPC has been registered against the couple. Investigation into the case was underway.

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