Mumbai police on Thursday arrested director of the advertising agency Ego Media Pvt Ltd, Bhavesh Bhinde over the collapse of the billboard in Ghatkopar, that killed 16 people and left 74 injured.
Bhinde's company had set up the ad hoarding (120x120 foot) in Pant Nagar, Ghatkopar East, which collapsed on March 13 in heavy rain and winds. Around 100 people were trapped under the billboard as it fell on a petrol pump.
He was arrested from Udaipur, Rajasthan said officials. A search was launched by the Mumbai police to locate and arrest the absconding director.
According to authorities, the hoarding was erected on a 10-year lease.
Pant Nagar police booked Bhinde under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Bhinde has around 23 criminal cases registered against him and was recently arrested on rape charges as well. In January, Bhinde was arrested in a rape case registered with Mulund police station, but later secured bail, a police official said. Bhinde also contested the Maharashtra assembly elections in 2009, he added.
According to BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, another firm of Bhinde's had been blacklisted by the commercial department of the Indian Railways in 2017-18 after several complaints of installing illegal hoardings were filed against it.
Rescue operations were jointly conducted by BMC, Mumbai police, NDRF, Mumbai fire brigade and Mahanagar Gas. Action is being taken to remove illegal hoardings in the metropolis, said an official.
Somaiya alleged that no tender process was followed for the crashed hoarding and the owner earned more than Rs 100 crore in revenue from it. He also said Bhinde got the permission to install the billboard only because he was close to MLA Sunil Raut, brother of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
"The revenue from the hoarding was over Rs 100 crore, the revenue from the fuel station (on which it collapsed) was Rs 25 crore. The state government gets nothing. Couple of crores transferred to Maharashtra police Kalyan Nidhi (welfare fund)," Somaiya claimed in a letter written to deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking a thorough inquiry."
