 "Mumbai hoarding collapse")
At the centre of the tragic billboard collapse in Mumbai, which claimed 16 lives, was an advertising agency, Ego Media Pvt Ltd, that had installed the ill-fated structure. The owner of the company, Bhavesh Bhinde, evaded police for three days before being arrested in Udaipur after an extensive manhunt spanning three states.
The collapse of the 120 feet by 120 feet billboard resulted in the deaths of 16 people and left 75 others injured. The catastrophic incident occurred amidst strong winds and unseasonal rains, prompting swift action from law enforcement agencies.
Realising that the police were closing in on him, Bhinde fled, setting off a pursuit through various cities. To evade capture, he frequently changed his location and assumed a false identity. His flight led authorities to Lonavala, Thane, and Ahmedabad before finally ending in Udaipur, where he was found hiding in a hotel under an assumed name. Bhinde's movements necessitated the deployment of eight teams by the Mumbai police, who worked round the clock to track him.
The investigation team revealed that upon learning of the impending police action, Bhinde initially fled to Lonavala before returning to Mumbai the next day. He then travelled to Thane, continued his journey to Ahmedabad, and ultimately sought refuge in Udaipur, where he was apprehended by the Crime Branch. The operation in Udaipur was conducted so discreetly that even the local police were not informed that a team was in town to nab Bhinde.
Ghatkopar tragedy: Who is Bhavesh Bhinde?
Bhavesh Bhinde, 51, has been a resident of Mulund West since childhood. A school dropout, Bhinde began working at a young age and started his career in an advertising agency on Grant Road. Like many Mumbaikars, he commuted by local train from Mulund to South Mumbai.
Born into a middle-class family, Bhinde initially lived in an old building near the police station in Mulund West. He and his parents later moved to a rented apartment in Mirani Nagar, owned by advocate Jayesh Mirani, who has known Bhinde for the past two decades. Mirani recalls that Bhinde vacated the apartment in the mid-1990s and relocated to a building on Devi Dayal Road in the same area.
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"Bhinde is a very show-off kind of person who wanted to become a businessman. He understood the hoardings and advertising business and learnt the tricks of the trade while working in the advertising agency. In 1999, he left the job and started his own firm, Guju Ads," a friend of Bhinde told Hindustan Times.
Bhinde expanded his business by networking with bureaucrats and politicians. "He is a hardcore businessman and can convince people quickly. Within a few years, he became a top hoarding owner in the city, owning over 500 hoardings across Mumbai – mostly on leased railway and civic properties," said the friend.
While living in Mirani Nagar, Bhinde rented a small office for his business. As it grew, he moved to a larger 600-square-foot space in a commercial building on RHB Road in Mulund West, employing around ten people to manage his hoardings business. He also established strong connections with several politicians and bureaucrats.
In 2009, Bhinde contested the Assembly elections as an independent candidate from the Mulund constituency against veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Sardar Tarasingh, aiming to divert Gujarati votes and indirectly support the late BJP legislator's opponents. However, he did not succeed.
Guju Ads focused primarily on advertisements at railway platforms and premises. In 2018, the railway administration blacklisted the company due to alleged violations and complaints lodged by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and others. This led to a sudden loss of business, prompting Bhinde to start a new venture, Ego Media Pvt Ltd. Bhinde eventually regained a foothold in the commercial hoardings business and is currently said to own over 200 hoardings across the city.
Mumbai Ghatkopar hoarding collapse not the first one
The recent hoarding collapse in Mumbai is not the first such incident, highlighting a recurring issue across India. In September last year, a 73-year-old man in northwest Delhi died after a hoarding fell on him while he was trying to install it near Nangloi bus depot.
Similarly, last June, three people lost their lives near Karumathampatti in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, when a giant steel hoarding they were erecting collapsed. The structure, found to be in violation of the law, fell during strong winds and rain, according to the police.
In another tragic incident, five people were crushed to death in April last year in Pune when an iron hoarding collapsed on a service road in Pimpri Chinchwad township. An official said that the victims were taking shelter under the hoarding when it suddenly collapsed.
Later, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh confirmed that the hoarding was illegal and had not been authorised by the civic body, despite prior notices issued to all hoardings in the area.
These incidents follow the death of 23-year-old IT employee Subhasree in Chennai in September 2019. She was crushed by a truck after an illegally erected banner fell on her two-wheeler, causing her to lose balance and fall. The truck behind her then ran over her. The incident prompted a public outcry, leading to a police complaint against All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) functionary C Jayagopal, who had put up the illegal hoarding.
When the matter came up in the Madras High Court, the judges had asked, "How many more litres of blood would paint the roads before the Tamil Nadu government banned unauthorised banners and billboards?".
In November 2017, Ragupathy Kandasamy, a 30-year-old software engineer, died in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, when his motorcycle crashed into a temporary wooden hoarding set up for MG Ramachandran's centenary celebrations by the ruling AIADMK. His death sparked public outrage, with messages such as 'Who Killed Ragu?' painted at the accident site.
