Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A contracting firm's distribution head was arrested on Tuesday after a senior official of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) accused him of obstructing govt work, issuing threats and attempting to frame her in false charges following disagreements over the quality of work on an urban water supply project.
MJP's chief engineer Manisha Palande (50), posted at the MJP's regional division in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, filed a formal complaint in this regard with the Vedantnagar police on Monday. She alleged that contractor Vishal Yedke engaged in deliberate substandard work and resorted to intimidation after she intervened to stop faulty construction practices.
Palande took charge as the chief engineer on Sept 6, 2024. She is overseeing the ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission and urban water supply schemes under MJP in the region. According to her complaint, the contracting firm was given the work to execute the city's water distribution network, including laying 2,000km of pipelines.
Palande alleged that during departmental review meetings, she found serious quality lapses in the road restoration and paver block works carried out after laying the pipelines. Despite strict directions to adhere to hydraulic testing norms and proper standards, she claimed Yedke bypassed protocols to expedite restoration, leading to poor-quality work.
In her complaint, Palande stated that Yedke verbally abused her, issued threats and even tried to intimidate her by saying that he would trap her in false Atrocities Act charges.
The Vedantnagar police have registered a case against Yedke under sections 132 (criminal force to deter a public servant from duty), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 221 (obstruction of duty), 224 (threat of injury), 237 (false declaration), 248 (false charge with intent to harm), 351(2) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult with provocation) of BNS.