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Ghatkopar tragedy: Who is Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of ad firm behind hoarding?

May 16, 2024 10:03 PM IST

The 51-year-old, who has declared himself an actor and model in one of his Facebook posts, began his career working for an advertising agency in Grant Road

Bhavesh Bhinde, 51, has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after a massive hoarding erected by his firm in Pant Nagar, Ghatkopar East, collapsed on May 13, killing 16 people and injuring 74 others. Bhinde, who has been a resident of Mulund West since childhood, is a school dropout who started working at a young age.

Bhavesh Bhinde, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, the advertising agency that owns the billboard that collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar.
Bhavesh Bhinde, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, the advertising agency that owns the billboard that collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar.

The 51-year-old, who has declared himself an actor/model in one of his Facebook posts, began his career working for an advertising agency in Grant Road. Like many other Mumbaikars, he commuted by local train from Mulund to South Mumbai.

Born into a middle-class family, Bhinde initially resided in an old building near the police station in Mulund West. Later, he and his parents moved to a rented apartment in Mirani Nagar, owned by advocate Jayesh Mirani, who has known Bhinde for the past two decades. According to Mirani, Bhinde vacated the rented apartment in the mid-1990s and started living in a building on Devi Dayal Road in the same area.

"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," said a friend of Bhinde, who wished to remain anonymous.

Bhinde then began networking with bureaucrats and politicians to expand his business. "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, who was questioned by the police on Wednesday.

While residing in Mirani Nagar, Bhinde also rented a small office for his business. As his business grew, he moved his office to a larger 600-sq-foot space in a commercial building on RHB Road in Mulund West and hired around ten employees to manage his hoardings business. He had reached the pinnacle of the industry and had strong connections with several politicians and bureaucrats.

In 2009, Bhinde contested the assembly elections as an independent candidate from the Mulund constituency against veteran BJP politician Sardar Tarasingh, in an attempt to divert Gujarati votes and indirectly assist the late BJP legislator's opponents. However, he failed to achieve this goal.

Guju Ads primarily focused on advertisements at railway platforms and premises. However, in 2018, the railway administration blacklisted the company due to several alleged violations and complaints lodged by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and others. The blacklisting led to a sudden loss of business, forcing Bhinde to start a new venture – Ego Media Pvt Ltd. He also started dance classes during the lockdown but later regained a foothold in the commercial hoardings business and is said to currently own over 200 hoardings across the city.

In his social media posts, Bhinde boasts about being a 'hoardings king.' "Hello everyone...I am thrilled to share some incredible news with you all. I have been honored with the titles of 'King of Asia Ghatkopar' (the collapsed 140'x120' hoarding at Pant Nagar), 'King of Dadar' (60'x60'), and 'King of Central Suburb Ghatkopar' (80'x80')....These achievements wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering support of all my well-wishers. Your encouragement means the world to me...Thank you for believing in me. Best regards,,,B.B.- Nothing Is Impossible," reads one of his recent posts.

Against this backdrop, Bhinde had applied to the Limca Book of Records for displaying the largest hoarding in India on GRP land in Ghatkopar East. A police source revealed that a Mulund resident had introduced Bhinde to the then GRP commissioner Quaiser Khalid, who eventually granted him a ten-year lease to erect four massive hoardings on the GRP land at Pant Nagar.

Apart from two criminal cases – one for raping a colleague and another for cheating someone – there are more than 20 cases of violations registered against Bhinde's firm under relevant sections of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, which he declared in his affidavit during an election.

The native of Kutch was granted pre-arrest bail by the Bombay High Court on March 13 this year in the rape case after the Mulund police informed the court that they did not wish to arrest him.

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