Nagpur: The Health Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) seems to have grappling with a kind of ‘weird’ problem. A ‘thug’ Sidharth Prabhune from Pune has managed to gain ‘entry’ into the department and indulging in cheating spree. His victims are mainly the employees working on contract basis. The NMC administration, it seems, is well aware of shoddy activities of this ‘thug’ but turning a blind eye.
It may be recalled that this ‘dubious character’ came to the city a year ago. In the NMC, he reportedly introduced himself as an office-bearer of a social organisation. After a while, he sneaked into the Health Department with nasty designs in his mind. Slowly and steadily this ‘element’ started targeting employees of the contractor collecting garbage from house to house. After taking the employees into confidence, he lured them with getting full-fledged salaries in accordance with the law. For the sake of show, this ‘thug’ ran from pillar to post or say from tables to tables of babus. The then Congress Corporator Praful Gudadhe Patil got impressed with the ‘untiring efforts’ of this ‘character’ and also prevailed upon the NMC administration. The Corporator raised the issue in General Body Meetings of the civic body. Moreover, he also ensured this ‘thug’ seating in visitors’ gallery for witnessing the proceedings of the House.
Later, at the ripe time, this ‘dubious element’ formed the union of contract employees who had got trapped in his designs as part of a well planned strategy. After forming the union, he started recovering varying amount of money – initially Rs 120, then Rs 500 and lastly Rs 180 – from each member of the union. Later, as part of a bigger plan, he planned to recover Rs 5000 each from all employees of the contractor. Accordingly, Rs 2500 each were taken from 47 employees sans any receipt. The ‘target’ was to recover a whopping Rs 75 lakh from over 1500 employees of the contractor. Further, it is alleged that a Corporator Bunty Shelke is also the part of this design.
But as the fate would have been, as the cheating of 47 employees of Central Workshop started making rounds of tables of some select babus, the ‘master’ of this ‘thug’ was apprised of the fact. The ‘master’ gave him a severe dressing down and forced him return the money to all the 47 employees.
