Mumbai billboard collapse: Firm owner a rape accused, fined 21 times for illegal hoardings

The director of the company that owned the 100-foot-tall billboard that collapsed and killed 14 people in Mumbai on Monday (May 13) is reportedly a serial offender and a rape accused.

Bhavesh Bhinde, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, has been fined on at least 21 occasions in the past for installing illegal billboards, say media reports.

One such illegal billboard in Ghatkopar collapsed on a petrol pump during Monday’s dust storm and rain, leaving 14 dead and some 75 injured. A case has been registered against Bhinde and others at Pant Nagar police station for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other IPC sections.

Rape case

Earlier this year, the 51-year-old Bhinde was reportedly charged under Section 376 IPC (rape) at Mulund police station, but he secured anticipatory bail. According to his legal counsel, the rape case against him was false.

Now it has emerged that until 2009, Bhinde had at least 21 other non-cognisable complaints against him related to installing hoardings without permission. He had reportedly declared these and two cheque-bouncing complaints when he had contested the Mulund seat as an Independent candidate in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Billboard audit

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said it will dismantle all the billboards on the GRP land where the collapse happened on Monday. The civic body has claimed that it had already issued a notice to Ego Media to remove this particular billboard and others immediately, but it had not complied.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered a structural audit of all billboards in Mumbai and promised a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each person killed in the collapse.

Bhinde is currently on the run. Rescue operations have been wrapped up and workers are cleaning up the site of collapse.