‘Hoarding collapse was an act of God’: Bhavesh Bhinde

Bhavesh Bhinde, accused in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse that killed 17, seeks discharge, claiming it was an "act of God" due to severe winds.

GHATKOPAR HOARDING COLLAPSE

‘Hoarding collapse was an act of God’: Bhavesh Bhinde

MUMBAI: Bhavesh Bhinde, the main accused in the May 13 Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case, which killed 17 persons and injured 74, has sought discharge from the charges levelled against him on the grounds that the collapse was “an act of God”.

Bhinde cited an IMD weather bulletin of May 12 while stating that “the wind force of 96 kmph as stated by IMD is unusual, severe, unexpected, never experienced before”. “… It was an unfortunate accident for which no fault can be attributed to the applicant (Bhinde) or the said company, Ego Media Pvt Ltd,” says his discharge plea filed through advocate Sana Rais Khan.

Khan said that Bhinde had obtained the necessary permissions for the hoarding from the railways, since it was constructed on railway land, and his failure to obtain a certificate from the BMC should thus not be considered. He was arrested by the Mumbai police from a hotel in Udaipur on May 17.

Bhinde’s discharge plea states that the allegations made in the FIR are false and baseless, and he was made a scapegoat due to political pressure mounted on account of the approaching Lok Sabha elections. The plea also claims that he was not associated with Ego Media when the hoarding was set up, and became a director from December 21, 2023. Janhavi Marathe was the director at the relevant time, says the plea.

Bhinde, 51, was granted bail by the sessions court in October.

Janhavi Marathe granted bail

The sessions court has granted bail to Marathe, the former director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd on the furnishing of a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and one or two sureties of the same amount. The court directed her to not leave India without taking permission from the court.