The Hindu

• The Mayor allegedly threatened the official asking him to stop the eviction drive 

Mangalore, Jun 16: Commissioner of Mangalore City Corporation P Chandrappa has lodged a complaint with the Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada against Mayor K Ashraf for allegedly threatening him.

In a copy of the complaint, which was circulated to presspersons here on Thursday, Dr Chandrappa said the Mayor had called him up on the phone and threatened him to stop the eviction drive of petty shops started by the corporation. Dr Chandrappa has asked the police to make security arrangements for him to perform his official duties .

The copy of the complaint was attached to several documents, including a ruling by a former Mayor to clear petty shops. The ruling has been signed by former Mayor Purandardas Kulur on January 31, 2005. The ruling directed the corporation to clear unauthorised petty shops in the city. The Commissioner appealed to Mr. Ashraf on March 25, 2006 stating that some pavements and intersections in the city were facing acute encroachment and needed to be cleared. In another document, Deputy Commissioner H.V. Parshwanath had directed Dr. Chandrappa to take immediate steps to clear encroachments before March 20, 2006 in an order signed by him on March 14, 2006.

The district unit of the Congress has praised Mr. Ashraf for stopping the eviction of petty shops. Vice-president of the district unit of the Congress Ivan D'Souza in a press release said the Mayor had taken the right step.