Bhavesh Bhinde’s Ego Media Pvt Ltd constructed the collapsed Ghatkopar billboard (File).
Mumbai:
Over 100 notices and penalties have been issued towards Mumbai businessman Bhavesh Bhinde, whose firm put in – illegally, metropolis officers have claimed – a 14,400 sq ft hoarding in Ghatkopar that collapsed final week amid robust winds and rain, crushing 16 individuals and injuring 75 others.
Police sources advised NDTV the notices and penalties are associated to violation of guidelines for erection of billboards, suggesting Bhinde and his firm could also be the principle perpetrator in a wholly preventable catastrophe that has, thankfully (if belatedly) prompted motion towards different outsized and unlawful hoardings within the Maharashtra capital and different cities; Chennai has introduced a crackdown too.
Bhinde went on the run after the billboard collapsed however was finally arrested – three days later – from Rajasthan’s Udaipur. Police stated the businessman skipped from Mumbai to Thane and Ahmedabad, altering his title and staying on the run for 72 hours in an try to evade seize.
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He faces a number of fees, together with culpable murder not amounting to homicide.
Bhinde additionally faces 23 prior fees starting from cheque fraud and illegally reducing timber (so his illegally put in billboards could possibly be higher seen) to rape; the latter case was filed in January.
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Sources additionally stated questions are actually being raised over earlier contracts awarded by Indian Railways and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company to erect billboards and hoardings.
In the meantime, the inquiry into Bhinde and his firm, Ego Media Ltd, has uncovered doubtful enterprise practices. Supply stated that in structuring firm management Bhinde took related evasive measures to maintain potential blame at bay, together with making an affiliate the agency’s director.
Nonetheless, Bhinde reportedly retained the ultimate say in negotiating contracts, lots of that are being re-examined amid complaints of violation of Railways and the Mumbai civic physique.
In December final 12 months, after a row with the ‘director’, Bhinde assumed the place himself.
The hoarding that fell was 120 x 120 ft – so large it was within the Limca E book of Information. Nonetheless, the Mumbai civic physique has stated it doesn’t, on paper, permit billboards bigger than 40 x 40 ft.
Questions have been raised over the approval course of for the billboard’s development, with the civic physique stating it had not signed off and that its approval was mandatory for all hoardings. Motion has been ordered towards all such “unlawful” buildings, civic physique chief Bhushan Gagrani advised reporters.
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Bhinde, nonetheless, has insisted it acquired ‘permission’ from the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Railways). The land on which it was constructed had been leased to the Authorities Railway Police.
Ego Media constructed 4 hoardings on that land, together with the one which collapsed.
In a predictable blame recreation, the GRP pitched duty again to the civic physique, saying it doesn’t have the gear to take such buildings down and asking town officers to behave.
A BMC official stated the hoardings can be razed however supplied no timeline.
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The main target can be on the petrol station on which the hoarding fell; sources stated it didn’t have an occupancy certificates – a allow confirming a constructing complies with all codes and rules.
VIDEO |Â 16 Seconds Of Horror As Mumbai Billboard Comes Crashing Down
The billboard collapsed on Could 13 after an sudden bout of heavy rain and robust winds hit town. A number of disturbing movies of the collapse have been quickly being shared on-line, as have been movies of different buildings collapsing or being thrown about by gusts of wind, together with a scaffolding.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – beneath hearth amid the continuing basic election – introduced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the households of every one who died within the Ghatkopar collapse.
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