An offence has been registered against a former Shiv Sena corporator from the city for allegedly demanding nearly Rs 45 lakh from a builder as 'protection money', police said today.
The ex-corporator demanded the money from the builder to 'protect' his construction project in the city from any hurdles, they said.
He had allegedly taken an advance of Rs five lakhs out of Rs 45 lakh and was demanding the rest of the sum, police said.
Subsequently, the builder filed a complaint with the Thane unit of the Anti-Corruption Bureau which carried out a probe and registered a complaint.
The demand for money was going on since June 2014, police said.
The accused has been booked under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act-1988, they added.
