Kapil faces scrutiny by Forest dept on harming of mangroves

Already facing heat over his tweet in which he had accused an unknown BMC official of seeking bribe for facilitating a construction, comedian Kapil Sharma is now facing scrutiny by Forest department over suspected harming of mangroves in construction of his office in Versova here.
Adding to his woes, police may question Sharma soon in connection with unauthorised alterations in his flat in a building in suburban Goregaon, for which he was booked yesterday under section 53(7) of Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP) 1966.
The Kapil episode has opened a can of worms, with Forest department swinging into action to check violations, if any, by the comedian as well as the flat owners and developers in the vicinity of his Versova office.

Forest officials visited Kapil's office yesterday and surveyed its premises and surrounding areas.
"Following instructions from Chief Conservator of Forest, our team visited the spot from where we received complaints. We found that there have been violations not only by Sharma, but 50-60 other flat owners also," Assistant Forest Conservator Makarand Ghodke told PTI today.
"All these occupants here have harmed the mangroves in their constructions and alterations. We have taken the GPS reading and will come out with final report in a day or two which will be submitted to the collector to take a final call," he said.

The comedian's tweet last week that he was asked to cough up Rs 5 lakh as bribe for "making" his office in a suburb by a civic official had kicked up a huge storm. Exacerbating the row, the comedian, in another tweet following the first one, had tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to question his promise of "acche din".

However, Sharma was forced on backfoot as it came to light that he had allegedly made unauthorised alterations in his Andheri bungalow as well, despite BMC notice to stop work.
Police are likely to serve notice to Kapil in a day or two after conducting 'panchnama' in connection with alleged alteration in his flat at DLH Enclave in Goregaon.

"Our documentation is going on and we will issue him a notice in a day or two, after doing 'panchnama' (preliminary investigation)," said a senior official, who is privy to the probe.
He said that Sharma will be called once evidences are gathered by police, and that he cannot be arrested directly.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam came out in the comedian's support and accused that BJP's "dirty tricks department" is targeting him as he dared to speak about corruption in BMC, ruled by the Sena-BJP combine.