Hoarding collapse accused brought to Mumbai

Bhavesh Bhinde, an advertising firm's director, whose company had put up the giant hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai killing 16 people, was brought to the city early on Friday, a police official said.

Bhinde, director of M/s Ego Media Pvt. Ltd., the advertising agency which recently installed the billboard that crashed in suburban Ghatkopar on Monday evening, was apprehended from Udaipur in Rajasthan on Thursday, he said.

Bhinde was then taken to Ahmedabad and from there he was brought to Mumbai by flight, the official said.

The police team along with Bhinde arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport around 5 am and he was taken to a crime branch office, he said.

He will be produced before the court later in the day, he said.

After trailing Bhinde for three days, the Mumbai police nabbed him on Thursday from Udaipur, he said.

The 120 feet x 120 feet hoarding collapsed onto a nearby petrol pump in the Chhedanagar area in Ghatkopar during gusty winds and heavy unseasonal rains, killing 16 people and injuring 75 others.

After the tragedy, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Pant Nagar Police Station against Bhinde, all directors of the advertising agency Ego Media, its officials and employees, officials had said earlier.