A lawsuit has been filed against Bhavesh Prabhudas Bhinde for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after the billboard that his business had erected toppled during the storm in Ghatkopar, Maharashtra’s Mumbai, on 13th May claiming the lives of at least 16 people and wounding 74 others. Notably, the owner of Ego Media has a history of police cases including one involving rape. He has already been fined 21 times over illegal hoardings.
The 51-year-old is reportedly on the run and has turned off his telephone, according to police officials.
On 14th May, the Pant Nagar Police declared Bhavesh Bhide absconding. The authorities revealed that when two different teams were dispatched to his Mulund residence and office, they were met with locked doors. He and his family had “gone out” the same day when the shocking instance took place, per the neighbours. Furthermore, the teams attempted to contact him, but according to an investigating officer, his phone was off. The cops mentioned that they were now tracking his movements and last location, and believe he has left the city but continues to remain in Maharashtra.
The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), which maintains the website myneta.info has disclosed additional information and unveiled that Bhavesh Bhinde had already received 21 penalties from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for unauthorized hoardings. According to the same website, which asserted that the data was obtained from the Election Commission of India website, he has two further charges under the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act, which deals with events involving checks and bounces. Interestingly, he ran as an Independent candidate from Mulund in the 2009 Maharashtra assembly elections, which is why his information is available on the aforementioned website.
The cases were brought under the Negotiable Instruments Act and the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act which dealt with issues involving checks that bounced, acquiring contracts from the Railways and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) for hoardings and banners over the previous ten years, and alleged infractions of BMC and Railways policies.
Bhide was charged with rape, molestation and criminal intimidation by the Mulund police on 24th January of this year. His girlfriend complained that he had sexually exploited her under the guise of marriage, leading to his arrest two months ago by Mulund police. He sought and was granted anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court. The chargesheet was submitted and the matter is under investigation, based on the police.
Bhavesh Bhinde and his company, Ego Media, along with others who are listed as unidentified have been charged under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering personal safety of others), 337 (causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in the First Information Report launched by Pant Nagar police.
No permission and repeated violation of rules
According to reports, Bhide has received contracts for the installation of hoardings and banners from the Indian Railways and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai throughout the years, despite repeatedly breaking their regulations. He is identified as an accused in occurrences of tree poisoning and tree chopping, together with other members of his company. The BMC has stated that it does not permit billboards larger than 40 by 40 feet. The hoarding that collapsed on the petrol station in Ghatkopar was a 120X120-foot construction that was large enough to be listed in the Limca Book of Records.
BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani claimed, “We have ordered action against all illegal hoardings in the city. We are starting today. A case has been filed in this case as no permission had been given for the hoarding. A complaint was also received that some trees had been cut so this hoarding could be visible. We have filed a case in this regard too.” Although Bhavesh Bhinde’s organization asserted that it has approval from the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Railways), BMC representatives have stated that approval from the municipal corporation is also required for any billboard in an area that falls under its purview.
BMC Additional Commissioner Sudhakar Shinde accused, “The BMC has written to the authorities several times and said our permission is not being taken for erecting billboards. We were told, citing various Acts, that our nod was not needed. The matter is being heard by the Supreme Court now. An inquiry will reveal where the lapses occurred. The BMC’s current priority is taking care of the people who were injured.”
Bhavesh Bhinde formerly owned and operated a business called Guju Ads, which the BMC blacklisted after several complaints were filed against him and the company. He created his own company, Ego Media Pvt Ltd and started winning contracts for billboards and hoardings in spite of being placed on the blacklist. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya took to social media to inform that he had registered complaint against Guju Ads for illegal hoardings and corrupt practices in 2018 after which action was taken.
I had filed complaint against #BhavesBhinde GujuAds ( EGO Media) for illegal hoardings & corrupt practices on 26/2/2018, at Mulund , Ghatkopar Stations… Railway Authorities had taken action against him. @BJP4India pic.twitter.com/skje5kcpdY
— Kirit Somaiya ( Modi ka Pariwar) (@KiritSomaiya) May 15, 2024
The party also claimed that Bhavesh Bhinde was close to Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and used their picture to emphasise its charge. Ram Kadam, BJP MLA from Ghatkopar West also shared it on social media and accused the two of being in cohorts with each other.
14 लोकांच्या निष्पाप बळीला जबाबदार हाच तो भावेश भिडे.. श्रीमान उद्धव ठाकरे यांच्या घरात..
— Ram Kadam ( modi ka parivar ) (@ramkadam) May 14, 2024
मनाला चीड आणणारे हे चित्र..
त्या अनधिकृत होर्डिंगला संरक्षण कोणाचे होते
हे या चित्रावरून स्पष्ट होते..
टक्केवारी साठी कोविड काळातले खिचडी चोर.. कफनचोर..
आजही टक्केवारी साठी 14… pic.twitter.com/5OGtWxh2Pp
Aftermath of the shocking instance
A senior official stated that Ego Media was served with a notice by the assistant municipal commissioner of the N-ward to remove these hoardings immediately, but the civic body has not received any response. The official pointed out that since the hoardings are built next to each other, they must be taken down one after the other but didn’t offer a time period for the same. According to him, the BMC has been asked to remove the remaining hoardings by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which has informed them that it lacks the equipment required to do so. The hoardings are situated along the Eastern Express Highway, which links Thane and Mumbai, according to a different municipal official and are at a distance of 100-150 meters each other.
On 14th May, BMC commissioner Bhusan Gagrani highlighted that three hoardings close to the accident site which were put up by the same agency whose hoarding crashed on 13th May were being removed. BMC requested the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for assistance with dismantling the hoardings because the local body lacks the technical expertise and necessary equipment. According to the BMC official, clearances were obtained from the GRP ACP (admin) for the commissioner of police (railways) to erect a total of eight hoardings, along with advertisements on both sides. BMC had not consent to even one of them.
#WATCH | Mumbai | Large hoardings are being removed in the Ghatkopar area after 14 people died and several were injured in a hoarding collapse incident in the area yesterday pic.twitter.com/a4rh02skQN
— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2024
Meanwhile, civic chief Sanjay Katkar announced, “We have already weeded out old hoardings from public places, regarding those installed on private properties, owners have been issued notices on 25, April to submit structural stability certificates within 15 days failing which the hoardings will be pulled down from 18, May onwards. While we are already very cautious in issuing fresh permissions, new hoardings are being erected on suitable spots on a Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis in compliance to safety parameters.”
Officials reported that there were 166 hoardings in all, 110 of which were on 20-by-20-foot plots that the city government leased out, in addition to 57 enormous billboards that were put up on private property. However, the MBMC acted swiftly and demanded structural stability certificates of billboards placed on private properties following the event in which five persons were killed in the Pimpri-Chinchwad region of Pune in April of last year after an iron hoarding collapsed on them. The Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), on the other hand, began tearing down the hoardings on public properties.
An official attached to MBMC’s advertising wing conveyed, “While all hoardings leased by the civic administration have been dismantled, we are regularly verifying stability certificates. A couple of private owners who are yet to submit current stability certificates will face action.”
On the evening of 13th May, when dust storms and unseasoned rains hit the city, an illegal hoarding which was situated on property owned by the Government Railway Police (GRP) slammed into a gas station in the Chheda Nagar neighbourhood causing death and destruction in the surrounding vicinity. Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, also paid a late-night visit to the location, promising action in the matter and directing a structural analysis of all hoardings in Mumbai.
