Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Bhavesh Bhinde was fined multiple times before incident, says cops

The hoarding in Ghatkopar had collapsed on a petrol pump. File Pic/Sameer Markande

The prime suspect, Bhavesh Bhinde, arrested after the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse which claimed 17 lives, had been fined by the civic body multiple times in the past for violation of norms, police probe has found, an official said, reported the PTI.

Bhavesh Bhinde was the director of advertising agency Ego Media which had installed the giant illegal hoarding that crashed on a petrol pump in suburban Ghatkopar during a dust storm on May 13.

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According to the PTI, the Mumbai Crime Branch, which is probing the case, found that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had issued him more than 100 notices for putting up illegal hoardings or violating norms concerning their size and other parameters, and imposed fine on him, an official said on Thursday.

As he was blacklisted by some civic agencies, it is suspected that he began to operate through a company not registered in his name, as per the PTI.

Apart from the Ghatkopar case where he was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Bhavesh Bhinde had six cases including a rape case registered against him -- four at Mulund police station and two in Santacruz, the crime branch official said, the news agency reported.

"We are collecting details of the notices issued to Bhavesh Bhinde and penalties imposed on him from the civic body," he added, reported the PTI.

Bhavesh Bhinde was in the hoarding business since 1998, as per the probe, an official said.

On the run after the May 13 tragedy, he was arrested from Udaipur, and has been remanded in police custody till May 26.

Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: BMC asks Railways to remove all oversized hoardings

Following the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse, which resulted in 14 fatalities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sent notifications to the Central and Western Railway authorities. These notices, issued under Section 30 (2) (V) of the Disaster Management Act of 2005, direct railways to remove hoardings larger than 40x40 feet in size.

Given Mumbai's coastline position and weather conditions, the BMC has decided to limit the size of hoardings to 40x40 feet for increased safety, reported PTI.

According to the report, the BMC release stated, "Taking into consideration the geographical position of Mumbai, the coastal region, its weather and wind conditions, the civic body has decided not to permit the erection of hoardings larger than 40x40 feet in size."

(with PTI inputs)