MUMBAI, Oct. 3 -- If he had pocketed the Rs.20 lakh bribe he had originally demanded from a builder, this senior civic official from Thane may have got away with it. Instead, he upped the sum to Rs.50 lakh, prompting the angry builder to report him and get him arrested. Now Shankar Patole, deputy municipal commissioner with the Thane Municipal corporation (TMC), and his associate Omkar Gaikar, an alleged middleman, are in police custody after they were arrested on Wednesday. They were arrested by the Mumbai ACB from the TMC headquarters, and remanded to custody by a local court in Thane. Police said the Thane-based builder had secured the rights to develop a prime property in Vishnu Nagar in Naupada. However, three illegal shops stood in the way of his plans. Although the plot owner, a senior citizen, had complained about the encroachment, the TMC had taken no action. The builder, through common friends, met Patole, who promised he would act against the encroachers and clear the plot for development. The civic official surreptitiously wrote 'Rs.20 lakhs' on a piece of paper and handed it to the builder, said an ACB officer, adding that Patole had asked the builder to speak with a certain Santosh Tondkar. Tondkar told the builder to transfer Rs.10 lakh to a certain bank account, which the builder did, in July. After that, two notices were issued to the three illegal shop owners, said the officer, but no further action was carried out. Last month, when the builder met Patole again, the latter wrote "Rs.50 lakhs" on a chit and demanded Rs.25 lakh immediately. The remaining Rs.25 lakh would have to be paid during the demolition, he said. The builder then approached the ACB headquarters in Worli. Patole and the alleged middleman were eventually arrested. Patole initially refused to communicate about the demand over WhatsApp. He later summoned the complainant to Mulund and then to his office in the TMC. The money was accepted by Omkar Gaikar on behalf of Patole in the builder's car. Thereafter, the ACB sleuths arrested both the accused. The ACB team also carried out a search at Patole's Manpada residence and seized various documents. Patole had joined TMC on deputation and was only recently promoted and assigned to the anti-encroachment department....