In a well-orchestrated search operation, Mumbai Police arrested Bhavesh Bhinde on Friday, the man whose company had put up the giant hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar, killing 16 people and injuring several others during a dust storm. Since the incident, Bhinde has been on a run in different regions, constantly changing his location and adopting a false identity.
After the tragedy, Bhinde left his home in a car with his driver and remained untraceable, prompting Mumbai Police to launch a multi-state search for him. Eight teams of the Mumbai police were dispatched to various locations to track him down. Working round the clock, Mumbai Police deployed these teams to track Bhinde’s movements, leading them to Lonavala, Thane, and Ahmedabad before finally apprehending him in Udaipur. He was found hiding in a hotel under an assumed name. The operation was so discreet that even the local police were not informed.
Bhinde, the director of M/s Ego Media Pvt. Ltd., the advertising agency responsible for installing the billboard that crashed in suburban Ghatkopar on Monday evening, was taken to Ahmedabad and then brought to Mumbai by flight. The police team along with Bhinde arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport around 5 am and transported him to a crime branch office. He is scheduled to be produced before the court on May 17th.
The 120-foot x 120-foot hoarding collapsed onto a nearby petrol pump in the Chhedanagar area in Ghatkopar during gusty winds and heavy unseasonal rains, killing 16 people and injuring 75 others. Following the tragedy, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the IPC was registered at the Pant Nagar Police Station against Bhinde, all directors of Ego Media, its officials, and employees.
