BMC razes 'majority of alterations' at Kangana's bungalow

The Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday pulled down 'most of' the alleged illegal alterations at the Bandra bungalow of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut by the time the Bombay high court ordered a stay on the process, officials said.

According to a civic official, the demolition at Ranaut's Pali Hill office started around 11 am and continued for the next one-and-a-half hours, till the high court passed the order.

"The BMC demolished majority of the unauthorised additions and extensions inside Ranaut's bungalow by the time the HC stayed the process," the official said.

According to sources, the civic body pulled down most of the alleged structural changes made on the ground and the first floors of the property. These included a toilet on the ground floor and a meeting room on the first floor.

A balcony extension on the first floor was also brought down, they said.

According to the BMC official, a team comprising over 30 civic staff members and officials were involved in the operation, in which one JCB machine and two trucks were used.

On Tuesday morning, the BMC had issued a stop-work notice to the 'ongoing renovation and finishing work' of Ranaut's office on Nargis Dutt Road.

In that notice, the civic body had listed 14 different things as unauthorised constructions in the bungalow, including conversion of a toilet on the ground floor into office space, construction of kitchen inside store room, new toilets near store room, conversion of balcony into habitable area, merging of one bungalow into another and extension of third floor.

On Wednesday morning, the civic body posted another notice outside her bungalow, informing her about the action it would be taking, the official said.

Kangana, a three-time National Award winner, tweeted some of the videos and photos of the demolition process.

'I am never wrong and my enemies prove again and again this is why my Mumbai is POK now,' Kangana tweeted, soon after the demolition work began.

The Bombay high court later stayed the demolition saying the civic body's conduct was 'mala fide' and 'deplorable'.

A division bench of Justices S J Kathawalla and R I Chagla asked why the BMC gave only 24 hours to Ranaut to respond to its stop-work notice and went on to take action when she was outside Maharashtra.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Ranaut challenging a notice issued by the BMC for 'illegal' construction at her bungalow.

Talking to reporters outside the actor's office after the stay order, her lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui said, "The BMC is lying. It's lying on record (about illegal construction at the bungalow). They said they have given stop-work notice. But such notice is given when the construction process is underway."

Ranaut's recent remark comparing Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) has drawn the ire of the ruling Shiv Sena.

She had said that she feared Mumbai Police more than the 'movie mafia', and would prefer security either from Himachal Pradesh or the Centre.]

The 33-year-old Queen actor, who returned to Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon from her home state Himachal Pradesh, alleged that the Maharashtra government was targeting her because of her clash with the Shiv Sena.