Kangana Ranaut has denied allegations that his office in Mumbai had illegal constructions
Mumbai:
Actress Kangana Ranaut has requested 2 million rupees compensation from the Mumbai municipal agency for the “illegal” demolition of part of her office in the country’s entertainment and financial capital, where real estate is among the most faces of the world.
Ms. Ranaut had approached the Bombay High Court while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC was tearing down the walls of Manikarnika Films, her film production house in Bandra, after which the court ordered the BMC to stop demolishing it.
The BMC had listed 14 “violations” in his office, which included a bathroom apparently built in a space marked for a kitchen and an office installed in an area designated for a bathroom.
Ms Ranaut added her claim for Rs 2 crore in damages in an amended petition filed with the Bombay High Court, the PTI news agency reported. In the amended petition, she said that the demolition work was a direct result of her comments against the Maharashtra government.
“The expression used by her has upset certain sectors and caused distress in certain sectors, particularly in a political party that is part of the government in Maharashtra,” Ms Ranaut’s amended petition said, PTI reported.
The “same party” is also the ruling party in the BMC, said the “Queen” actress in her petition, without naming Shiv Sena, who heads the BMC, India’s wealthiest municipal corporation.
The situation escalated dramatically in the first week of this month after Ms Ranaut said she feared living in Mumbai, after which Shiv Sena leaders, including Sanjay Raut, told her that she should move from Mumbai. She then retorted that “Mumbai feels like PoK,” short for Pakistani-occupied Kashmir, a comment she repeated the day the BMC moved in for demolition work.
Ms. Kangana has alleged that the BMC was willing to harass her when she received a demolition notice on September 7, asking her to respond within 24 hours at a time when she was in Manali amid the coronavirus pandemic. She flew to Mumbai two days later, escorted by a ring of “Y-plus” security personnel handed over by the center in her complaint that she had received threats.
The BMC move had raised questions such as whether the actor had been given enough notice as he had been out of Mumbai for months and why no action was taken earlier. The BMC was also denounced about the timing of their action, as Ms. Ranaut had announced her return date last week.
The matter will be heard again on September 22 in the Bombay High Court.
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