NDMC advocate killed because he rejected bribe offer?

A day after the murder of an advocate posted at New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), it was learnt that contract killers were hired to eliminate him as he refused take a bribe of Rs 10 crore to settle a 21-year-long legal battle of a 4-star hotel in Connaught Place.

According to sources, the police have identified the accused and they are likely to be arrested by Wednesday. The incident took place on Monday when M M Khan was returning home in Jamia Nagar in his Swift Dzire car. He was shot by two men who were riding on a motorbike. When Khan was taken to the hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. Khan was posted in NDMC as a legal advisor.

During investigation, it was learnt that he was handling a tax clearance case related to ‘The Connaught Hotel’ at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg. “After an 18-year-long legal battle, the hotel obtained a favourable verdict in 2013 from the trail court but thereafter the NDMC had approached the High Court, to appeal against a judgment of a district court allowing the hotel to remain on the premises even though it had failed to pay the necessary license fee.”

“In September last year, the High Court, in a 156-page judgment noted that the hotel had “instituted a frivolous suit” and had “misled the Trial Court” to get favourable orders to continue occupying the prime property and apart from imposing penalty the Judge has directed the NDMC estate officer to expedite eviction proceedings against the hotel and decide the matter within six months. However, the case was extended for the next three-months,” said an official in NDMC.

The official further added that M M Khan was one of the prime advocates who were handling the case. According to police sources, from last two weeks he was being pressurised to settle the case and he was offered Rs 10 crores but he refused. Furthermore, he was getting threat calls.

It is worth mentioning that the hotel deliberately kept on delaying the suit by filing one application after the other and thereby succeeded in delaying the suit for more than 18 years. In the meantime, the licensee’s liability increased from Rs 3.5 crore in the year 1995 to the tune of Rs 300 crores.