Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Cops suspect involvement of another person in Ego Media

A special investigation (SIT) team, formed on Wednesday, have obtained statements for at least six bank accounts, where Bhinde and his firms have accounts

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police crime branch suspects the involvement of another person, apart from Bhavesh Bhinde, operating Ego Media Pvt Ltd, whose 120x120 hoarding collapsed in Pant Nagar, Ghatkopar on May 13, killing 17 people and injuring 74 others.

Mumbai, India. May 15, 2024: Over the past 40 hours, NDRF and Mumbai Fire Brigade officials have been carrying out search and rescue operations at the site of a billboard collapse in the Chedanagar area of Ghatkopar, Mumbai. This incident occurred due to heavy rain and strong winds, resulting in the loss of fourteen lives and leaving 75 others injured. May 15, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

A special investigation (SIT) team, formed on Wednesday, have obtained statements for at least six bank accounts, where Bhinde and his firms have accounts. They are scrutinising the same to trace the end beneficiaries of the income generated from its hoardings across the city.

It has also communicated with the Government Railway Police (GRP), allottees of the Ghatkopar land where the hoarding stood, seeking documents related to Ego Media and the terms and conditions of the agreement between the GRP and the firm, added the officer.

The SIT has also conducted searches at Bhinde’s office and residence in Mulund and seized several documents related to the hoarding and has also recorded statements of seven people, including some of Bhinde’s employees before a metropolitan magistrate under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, said the officer.

Officials have also sought help from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), who sent a team of experts to the site to take samples and prepare a report on structural issues of the hoarding collapse. However, they could not take samples because of the heavy iron pieces lying at the site. They said special cranes will be deployed to lift and remove the heavy iron pieces from the site and the VJTI team is likely to visit the site on Saturday.

On May 13, the massive advertising hoarding in Ghatkopar East collapsed after being hit by a short spell of unseasonal rain and gusty winds. The billboard fell on a busy petrol pump, trapping close to 100 people under it, 17 of whom have died.

The Pant Nagar police registered a case against Bhinde under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

The 51-year-old Mulund resident was arrested on the evening of May 16 from a hotel in Udaipur, where he was staying under a fake identity. He was brought to Mumbai on May 17, and produced before the metropolitan magistrate court in the afternoon. He is in police custody till May 26.