A giant hoarding in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area collapsed on May 13 killing 17 people and injuring more than 70.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Bombay High Court on July 19 directed the police to file a detailed affidavit in response to a petition of advertising firm director Bhavesh Bhinde, arrested in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case.

Bhinde has sought that the FIR registered against him be quashed claiming that the hoarding collapse, which killed 17 persons, was an “act of God” and he is released on interim bail pending hearing of the plea. He has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A division Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha said the plea also raises the contention of illegal arrest as the mandatory notice under Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure was not issued to the accused first.

The Bench said the police will have to clarify their stand on this as several judgments say that illegal detention necessitates immediate release. Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said a detailed affidavit will be filed. The court posted the matter for further hearing on July 26.

Bhinde is the director of Ego Media Private Limited which erected the giant hoarding in the city’s Ghatkopar area that collapsed on May 13 killing 17 people and injuring more than 70.

Bhinde sought the FIR registered against him to be quashed claiming that the crash was an “act of God” and hence he cannot be held responsible. Bhinde, presently in judicial custody, sought to be released on bail pending hearing of his plea.

Citing the India Meteorological Department (IMD) weather bulletin issued on May 12, Bhinde claimed that the collapse was an “act of God”.

“The IMD bulletin failed to predict the severe dust storms with gusty winds that hit Mumbai on the fateful day. On account of the aforesaid, the said hoarding collapsed and not due to improper, faulty construction of the same as wrongly, falsely alleged in the said FIR,” his plea said.

It further claimed that the “unexpected and unprecedented wind speeds of up to 96 kmph” caused the hoarding to collapse, an event for which neither he nor Ego Media Private Limited could be held accountable.

The petition added that on the day of the collapse, several other similar incidents happened in the city due to which buildings were damaged and hundreds of trees fell down, “resulting in several casualties”.

Bhinde’s petition also referred to the collapse of a multi-storey parking lot in Wadala, in which three people were injured. As per his plea, the hoarding was legally erected with all requisite permissions.

It claimed that the case was registered due to political pressure following the collapse and the same is “baseless, untenable, and not maintainable under the law”.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has no jurisdiction over the land on which the hoarding stood and the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was incorrectly applied, it added.

“The construction and placement of the hoarding was authorised by Government Railway Police (GRP) and accompanied by necessary ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOCs). Considering that the hoarding was on the Railways land, no permission was required from the BMC,” the petition said.

His plea claimed that on November 22, 2022, the commissioner of police, Railways, granted the rights for the construction/erection of hoarding, to Ego Media.

Mumbai:

Over 100 notices and penalties have been issued against Mumbai businessman Bhavesh Bhinde, whose company installed – illegally, city officials have claimed – a 14,400 sq ft hoarding in Ghatkopar that collapsed last week amid strong winds and rain, crushing 16 people and injuring 75 others.

Police sources told NDTV the notices and penalties are related to violation of rules for erection of billboards, suggesting Bhinde and his company may be the main culprit in an entirely preventable disaster that has, fortunately (if belatedly) prompted action against other outsized and illegal hoardings in the Maharashtra capital and other cities; Chennai has announced a crackdown too.

Bhinde went on the run after the billboard collapsed but was eventually arrested – three days later – from Rajasthan’s Udaipur. Police said the businessman skipped from Mumbai to Thane and Ahmedabad, changing his name and staying on the run for 72 hours in an attempt to evade capture.

READ | Mumbai Cops’ Secret Op To Catch Billboard Collapse Accused

He faces multiple charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Bhinde also faces 23 prior charges ranging from cheque fraud and illegally cutting trees (so his illegally installed billboards could be better seen) to rape; the latter case was filed in January.

READ | Rape Accused, Aspiring MLA: Man Behind Collapsed Billboard

Sources also said questions are now being raised over earlier contracts awarded by Indian Railways and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to erect billboards and hoardings.

Meanwhile, the inquiry into Bhinde and his company, Ego Media Ltd, has uncovered dubious business practices. Source said that in structuring company leadership Bhinde took similar evasive measures to keep potential blame at bay, including making an associate the firm’s director.

However, Bhinde reportedly retained the final say in negotiating contracts, many of which are being re-examined amid complaints of violation of Railways and the Mumbai civic body.

In December last year, after a row with the ‘director’, Bhinde assumed the position himself.

The hoarding that fell was 120 x 120 feet – so big it was in the Limca Book of Records. However, the Mumbai civic body has said it does not, on paper, allow billboards larger than 40 x 40 feet.

Questions have been raised over the approval process for the billboard’s construction, with the civic body stating it had not signed off and that its approval was necessary for all hoardings. Action has been ordered against all such “illegal” structures, civic body chief Bhushan Gagrani told reporters.

READ | Day After Collapse, Blame Game Over Mumbai Billboard

Bhinde, however, has insisted it received ‘permission’ from the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Railways). The land on which it was built had been leased to the Government Railway Police.

Ego Media built four hoardings on that land, including the one that collapsed.

In a predictable blame game, the GRP pitched responsibility back to the civic body, saying it does not have the equipment to take such structures down and asking the city officials to act.

A BMC official said the hoardings will be razed but offered no timeline.

READ | Fuel Station On Which Mumbai Hoarding Fell Didn’t Have Permit

The focus is also on the petrol station on which the hoarding fell; sources said it did not have an occupancy certificate – a permit confirming a building complies with all codes and regulations.

VIDEO | 16 Seconds Of Horror As Mumbai Billboard Comes Crashing Down

The billboard collapsed on May 13 after an unexpected bout of heavy rain and strong winds hit the city. Multiple disturbing videos of the collapse were soon being shared online, as were videos of other structures collapsing or being thrown about by gusts of wind, including a scaffolding.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – under fire amid the ongoing general election – announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each person who died in the Ghatkopar collapse.

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New Delhi:

At the heart of the tragic billboard collapse in Mumbai, which claimed 16 lives, was an advertising agency, Ego Media Pvt Ltd, that had installed the fateful structure. The owner of the company, Bhavesh Bhinde, managed to evade police for 3 days, but was finally arrested from Udaipur.

He was arrested after an extensive manhunt spanning three states.

The collapse of the 120 feet by 120 feet billboard claimed the lives of 16 and left 75 others injured. The catastrophic incident, which occurred amidst strong winds and unseasonal rains, prompted swift action from law enforcement agencies.

Video | 16 Seconds Of Horror, When Mumbai Billboard Crushed Petrol Pump

https://t.co/FM129UZb0epic.twitter.com/NYWMcu981X

— NDTV (@ndtv) May 16, 2024

Following his realization that the police were closing in on him, Bhavesh Bhinde fled, setting off a pursuit that led through various cities. To evade capture, he kept changing his location and assumed a false identity.

His flight led authorities to Lonavala, Thane, and Ahmedabad before finally ending in Udaipur, where he was found hiding in a hotel under an assumed name. He would be in a new city every time the cops closed in on him, and Mumbai Police had to deploy eight teams, which worked round the clock, to track Bhinde.

The team revealed that Bhavesh Bhinde, upon learning of the impending police action, initially fled to Lonavala before returning to Mumbai the next day. Subsequently, he traveled to Thane, but continued his elusive journey to Ahmedabad, ultimately seeking refuge in a hotel in Udaipur, where he was finally nabbed by the Crime Branch.

He was finally caught after the investigation team utilised a combination of technical expertise and human intelligence.

The Udaipur operation was so discreet that even the local police were not informed that a team was in town to catch Bhinde.

“The operation was a top secret, and even the Udaipur police did not know about it,” said an official on the investigating team.

The hoarding collapsed onto a nearby petrol pump in the Chhedanagar area in Ghatkopar during gusty winds and heavy unseasonal rains, killing 16 people and injuring 75 others.

This incident has highlighted severe lapses in the regulatory oversight of advertising installations in Mumbai, sparking calls for stricter enforcement of safety standards.

Mumbai:

Bhavesh Bhinde, a businessman whose company was responsible for installing the billboard that collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar, was arrested from Rajasthan’s Udaipur last night and was brought to Mumbai this morning where he will be presented in a court. 

Mr Bhinde, the owner of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, was arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch after a massive manhunt. 

The catastrophic incident occurred on Monday evening when a 120 feet by 120 feet billboard crashed onto a nearby petrol pump amid gusty winds and unseasonal rains, resulting in the deaths of 16 people and injuries to 75 others. Following the incident, Bhinde fled Mumbai in a car with his driver.

A total of eight teams from the Mumbai Police were dispatched to various locations to locate Bhinde who was finally tracked down in Udaipur Thursday evening, three days after the hoarding collapse. 

According to the police, after going to Lonavala, Bhinde returned to Mumbai the next day. From there, he went to Thane, then to Ahmedabad, and after changing locations several times, he changed his name and hid in a hotel in Udaipur. Joint CP Crime Lakhmi Gautam, overseeing the investigation, dispatched a Mumbai Police Crime Branch team to Udaipur where they tracked him down and took him into custody.

The search and rescue operation at the collapse site concluded at 10 am on Thursday, as confirmed by an official from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The illegal billboard had been installed on land under the possession of the Government Railway Police (GRP).

This incident has highlighted severe lapses in the regulatory oversight of advertising installations in Mumbai, sparking calls for stricter enforcement of safety standards.