Who is Bhavesh Bhinde responsible for the Mumbai hoarding collapse?
TNIE online desk
14 people were killed and 74 injured in a billboard collapse amid rain and gusty wind at Mumbai's Ghatkopar, on May 13, 2024.
The hoarding which fell on the petrol station at Chheda Nagar in Ghatkopar was a 120X120 sq ft structure, which exceeded the BMC’s permissible size of 40x40 sq ft. The hoarding had garnered recognition in the Limca Book of Records and was erected on railway land.
As per a BMC note, Ego Media erected the hoarding, which the local police had allowed.
An Assistant Police Commissioner had given permission to erect 4 hoardings on behalf of the Commissioner of Railway Police, Mumbai, including the one that collapsed, but no official permission was obtained from the BMC, as per a civic official.
Police have filed a case under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (negligence and hurting), 337 (endangering human life), and 34 (criminal act done by several people with common intention) against Bhavesh Bhinde at Pantnagar police station in Ghatkopar.
Bhinde is the owner of Ego Media. He has over 20 different police cases against him, including a rape case. After the incident, Bhinde is on the run and his cellphone is also switched off.
Bhinde has big influence in BMC and railways and is allegedly known for bagging several contracts by greasing the hands of the officers.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the people who were killed in the tragedy and has also said that the government will bear the cost of treatment for those who were injured.