MUMBAI: Bhavesh Bhinde, 51, director of the company behind the hoarding that crashed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar on Monday killing 16, was arrested from Udaipur in Rajasthan on Thursday. On the run since the collapse, he had checked into a hotel booked in a relative’s name.
In another development, the DGP’s office issued a show-cause notice to senior IPS officer Quaiser Khalid for lapses before granting a nod to Bhinde’s Ego Media Pvt Ltd to erect four hoardings on police land between 2021 and 2022.
City crime branch officials are set to bring Bhinde to Mumbai late Thursday and hand him over to the Pant Nagar police, which will produce him before Vikhroli court.
Bhinde, who faces an FIR of culpable homicide, fled in his SUV to Lonavala on Monday, but kept switching on his phone for updates on the tragedy. He returned to Thane the next day and drove to Gujarat. Later, he called a relative and used his Aadhaar card to book a room in the Udaipur hotel.
GRP, then under Khalid, had allegedly not taken approval from the state DGP’s office. The largest of the four hoardings, a massive 120ft x 120 ft, when BMC rules allow 40ft x 40ft, collapsed on Monday.
BJP’s Kirit Somaiya has demanded an SIT probe into the lapses and that Khalid, now additional director general, protection of civil rights, be asked to proceed on leave till the inquiry is complete.
A senior police officer told TOI there were procedural lapses on the part of every agency involved in approving the hoarding. “There were several agencies, including BMC, that had to give a go-ahead as the hoarding was coming up at a petrol pump.”
Office of the GRP has submitted a report on the crash, fixing the responsibility on the state home department for further action.
Sources in the GRP said after the DGP’s office was apprised of the matter, a showcause notice was sent to Khalid. Despite repeated attempts, Khalid did not respond to TOI’s calls or messages.
Meanwhile, following the crash, a friend called Bhinde and apprised him of the situation, prompting him to leave the city.
“Our teams with DCP Vishal Thakur succeeded in arresting Bhinde with technical help and human intelligence,” said Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police (crime).
Subsequently, BMC issued a show-cause notice to the railway police for allowing four hoardings to come up on the plot in 2022 without its permission.
Somaiya alleged that Khalid prevented BMC from acting against the hoarding.
In another development, the DGP’s office issued a show-cause notice to senior IPS officer Quaiser Khalid for lapses before granting a nod to Bhinde’s Ego Media Pvt Ltd to erect four hoardings on police land between 2021 and 2022.
City crime branch officials are set to bring Bhinde to Mumbai late Thursday and hand him over to the Pant Nagar police, which will produce him before Vikhroli court.
Bhinde, who faces an FIR of culpable homicide, fled in his SUV to Lonavala on Monday, but kept switching on his phone for updates on the tragedy. He returned to Thane the next day and drove to Gujarat. Later, he called a relative and used his Aadhaar card to book a room in the Udaipur hotel.
GRP, then under Khalid, had allegedly not taken approval from the state DGP’s office. The largest of the four hoardings, a massive 120ft x 120 ft, when BMC rules allow 40ft x 40ft, collapsed on Monday.
BJP’s Kirit Somaiya has demanded an SIT probe into the lapses and that Khalid, now additional director general, protection of civil rights, be asked to proceed on leave till the inquiry is complete.
A senior police officer told TOI there were procedural lapses on the part of every agency involved in approving the hoarding. “There were several agencies, including BMC, that had to give a go-ahead as the hoarding was coming up at a petrol pump.”
Office of the GRP has submitted a report on the crash, fixing the responsibility on the state home department for further action.
Sources in the GRP said after the DGP’s office was apprised of the matter, a showcause notice was sent to Khalid. Despite repeated attempts, Khalid did not respond to TOI’s calls or messages.
Meanwhile, following the crash, a friend called Bhinde and apprised him of the situation, prompting him to leave the city.
“Our teams with DCP Vishal Thakur succeeded in arresting Bhinde with technical help and human intelligence,” said Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police (crime).
Subsequently, BMC issued a show-cause notice to the railway police for allowing four hoardings to come up on the plot in 2022 without its permission.
Somaiya alleged that Khalid prevented BMC from acting against the hoarding.