The Maharashtra government took action on Tuesday, suspending IPS officer Quaiser Khalid, former Commissioner of Government Railway Police, for authorizing an illegal hoarding that tragically collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area. The incident, which occurred on May 13, resulted in the devastating loss of 17 lives and injuries to over 70 individuals. The hoarding, erected without the necessary clearance from the Director General of Police (DGP) office, crumbled onto a petrol pump amidst strong winds and a dust storm.
Following the tragedy, the Maharashtra government established a committee led by former Allahabad High Court chief justice Dilip Bhosle to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the hoarding collapse. Police investigations have led to the arrest of several individuals involved. Bhavesh Bhinde, director of Ego Media Private Limited, the company responsible for erecting the structure, has been apprehended, along with former staff members Janhavi Marathe and Sagar Patil. Structural engineer Manoj Sanghu, who provided the stability certificate for the hoarding despite allegedly not conducting a comprehensive inspection, has also been taken into custody. The Mumbai Police’s special investigation team (SIT) has questioned BMC engineer Sunil Dalvi, who was stationed in N Ward.
An official report revealed that an internal inquiry conducted by the Director General of Railway Police into the incident was submitted to the Maharashtra DGP, who then forwarded it to the state government. The investigation uncovered that the hoarding was constructed on land belonging to the Government Railway Police. Permission to erect the structure near a petrol pump was granted to Ego Media Private Limited for a period of 10 years, with approval provided by then Police Commissioner of Government Railway Police Quaiser Khalid.
A report compiled by the Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technological Institute (VJTI) exposed the fatal flaw in the hoarding’s construction: an inadequate and weak foundation. The report concluded that while any hoarding structure should be capable of withstanding wind speeds of up to 158 kilometers per hour (kmph), the collapsed hoarding could only withstand wind speeds of 49 kmph. On the day of the incident, the wind speed was recorded at 87 kmph, highlighting the vulnerability of the structure to the prevailing weather conditions.
