Mumbai hoarding collapse: owner of an illegal billboard disappears, and a FIR is lodged

The owner of the billboard received many fines for erecting unauthorized hoardings. Commissioner of Mumbai Police Vivek Phansalkar vows to take strong action against those in charge of the collapse, which claimed the lives of at least 14 people.

According to city authorities, amid Monday's unseasonal rains and dust storms that pounded Mumbai, a 100-foot-tall illegal billboard toppled at a gas station in Ghatkopar, resulting in at least 14 fatalities and 74 injuries.

The proprietor of Ego Media Private Limited, Bhavesh Bhinde, and others are facing charges from the Mumbai Police for erecting an illegal hoarding in Ghatkopar that fell during a storm on May 13, killing fourteen people.

According to an officer, the Pant Nagar police station has received a case of culpable homicide that does not qualify as murder.

During the dust storm and unusual rains that battered Mumbai on May 13, a 100-foot-tall illegal billboard toppled at a gas station in Ghatkopar, resulting in at least 14 fatalities and 74 injuries, according to civic authorities.

According to a Times of India story, when police searched Bhinde's home in the Mulund area of the country's financial center, he was not there. According to the police, teams have been created to locate him.

Bhinde was the subject of a rape complaint that was filed early this year, according to the Indian Express.  In the Bombay High Court, anticipatory bail was granted to him. According to the article, the 51-year-old ran in the 2009 Maharashtra assembly elections and claimed in his candidacy papers that he had received at least 21 fines for erecting unlawful hoardings around the city.

Moneycontrol was unable to independently confirm the claims.

On May 14 morning, search and rescue efforts were underway at the Chheda Nagar gas station, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation authorities.

Get all the latest details about the hoarding collapse in Mumbai here.

Vivek Phansalkar, the commissioner of police in Mumbai, promised that anyone responsible for the hoarding fall will face severe consequences.

"Our sincere sympathies go out to the families who lost loved ones in the tragic accident in Ghatkopar. The @MumbaiPolice team is actively involved in the rescue effort. Phansalkar said in a post on the X platform, "We assure citizens that those responsible for this mishap will face stringent legal action."

According to local authority, the billboard was erected illegally but with approval. Late in the evening, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde paid a visit to the accident scene and issued an order for a structural examination of all the city's hoardings.

Shinde further said that the relatives of each individual slain will get Rs 5 lakh in help.