Number of corporators in GHMC with criminal records comes down

HYDERABAD: The number of corporators in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) council with criminal records has reduced from 30 to 25. While the newly elected civic body has 25 corporators with criminal charges against them, the outgoing council, whose members were elected in 2016, had 30 members with criminal background.

The most severe of cases against corporators in the newly elected body is under IPC Section 33, a non-bailable offense, involving MIM's Mustafa Ali who, if convicted, could face 10 years in jail and fine for grievously hurting a public servant discharging his duties.

As per an analysis of the Forum for Good Governance (FGG), among those elected in 2020 with criminal records, the highest 10 belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi has eight and MIM seven corporators with criminal charges in the 150-member council.
Corporators with criminal background include two women, one from BJP and the other from TRS.

Crimes registered against these corporators range from carrying deadly weapons, criminal intimidation, assaulting or intentionally causing grievous hurt to public servants, being a member in riots, intentionally promoting breach of peace, and trespassing into a house with intent of causing hurt, among others.

Among the candidates identified by FGG with records of crime, the highest seven cases have been filed against AIMIM's Md. Mustafa Ali, who has been election from ward number 48 – Shalibanda. BJP's T. Srinivas Reddy representing ward number 59 – Mailardevpally has five cases against him and AIMIM's K. Mubasheeruddin from ward number 56 – Kishan Bagh has been booked for four criminal cases.

The Forum for Good Governance had before commencement of the 2020 GHMC polls, identified 49 contesting candidates with criminal records, out of which only 25 have got elected as corporators.