Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of Ego Media Private Limited.
Credit: Instagram/ Bhavesh Bhinde Guju
An illegal hoarding that stood on a piece of land in possession of the Government Railway Police (GRP) crashed on a petrol pump in Mumbai's Chheda Nagar area on May 13 evening, when the city was hit by dust storms and unseasonal rains.
At least 89 persons were extricated from under the hoarding, of whom 16 have been declared dead while the other 75 were injured and are undergoing treatment, officials said.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of Ego Media Private Limited, which had installed the hoarding, and others, for culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) under the IPC at Pant Nagar police station, another official said. Bhinde is still absconding.
Who is Bhavesh Bhinde?
Bhavesh Bhinde, the owner of Ego Media Private Limited, already faces at least 23 criminal cases, as per an affidavit filed by him when he unsuccessfully contested from Mulund during the 2009 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls.
In January this year, a rape case was filed against Bhinde at Mulund Police station, as per several media reports.
As per a report in India Today, he faced charges for the bouncing of cheques and the alleged violation of BMC and Railways' rules under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and Negotiable Instruments Act in the past. Meanwhile, he also faces charges of tree poisoning, filed by the BMC.
Moreover, a company that he previously ran in the name of Guju Ads had been blacklisted by the BMC after several cases were registered against it and Bhinde. Despite that, he launched Ego Media Pvt Ltd and continued to receive orders of billboards and hoardings.
It is noteworthy that the hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai had been mentioned in the Limca Book of Records for being the 'Largest Hoarding' in India.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which is engaged in the search and rescue operation at the hoarding collapse site in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, on Wednesday said the number of casualties could go up in the tragedy as more deaths cannot be ruled out — the chances of finding survivors are slim.
Two teams of the NDRF along with the fire brigade and police have been working relentlessly since the last two days to rescue the people trapped under the billboard that collapsed on a petrol pump in Chheda Nagar area of Ghatkopar on Monday evening due to gusty winds and unseasonal rains.
(With PTI inputs)