Mumbai hoarding collapse: Owner Bhavesh Bhinde arrested from Udaipur

NEW DELHI: Mumbai police crime branch on Thursday arrested Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of the firm which put up the hoarding in Ghatkopar, that caused the death of 16 people from Udaipur. Bhinde is currently being transported to Mumbai.
On May 13, a 120 x 120 sq ft, weighing 250 tonnes, a Ego Media Private Limited's hoarding fell onto a busy petrol pump, trapping nearly 100 people underneath.Sixteen people lost their lives in the incident, and 75 others were injured.
The collapse occurred after a sudden dust storm and rain, with winds reaching up to 60kmph, which the IMD classified as pre-monsoon activity. The NDRF, MMRDA, and other teams conducted a rescue operation, using heavy machinery to extricate victims trapped in the wreckage.
Bhinde, the director of the advertising agency was held responsible for the collapsed hoarding which was said to be erected without permission from the BMC. Thus, he was booked for violating BMC rules related to billboards, including cutting/poisoning trees blocking his hoardings. Mumbai police had conducted a search at the residence of Bhavesh Bhinde in Mulund on Monday but he was untraceable.
BMC also discovered that Ego Media Pvt Ltd had erected eight additional hoardings in the area without obtaining the necessary permissions from the civic body and issued notice against them. It was revealed that the land parcels on which these hoardings were illegally erected are registered under the ownership of the home department and the Maharashtra state police housing welfare corporation, violating Section 328 of the BMC Act, 1888.
Apart from the hoarding collapse case, Bhinde has more than 20 cases registered against him, including a rape case.
Bhinde had contested as an Independent candidate in the state elections, representing the Mulund constituency in 2009. As part of the electoral process, he submitted an affidavit that revealed that he had 23 legal cases against him. These cases were filed under various legislative acts, including the "Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act" and the "Negotiable Instruments Act," the latter of which pertains to instances of bounced cheques.
(With agency inputs)