Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Structural engineer remanded in police custody till June 5

The petrol pump where the accident occurred. File Pic

A Mumbai court on Friday remanded a structural engineer in police custody till June 5, reported PTI. The structural engineer was arrested in connection with the May 13 hoarding collapse that killed 17 persons in Ghatkopar.

Structural engineer Manoj Sanghu was produced in the magistrate court after he was arrested by the Crime Branch on Thursday.

Sanghu, who was appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), had given a stability certificate to the hoarding, which crashed onto a petrol pump after gusty winds and unseasonal rains hit the city on May 13.

Ego Media Private Limited had erected the hoarding on a plot which belonged to the Government Railway Police (GRP).

Sanghu is the second person to be arrested in the case. Police had earlier arrested Ego Media Private Limited director Bhavesh Bhinde, who is currently in judicial custody.

Bhinde and others were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 304-2 (when there is knowledge that death may be caused by one's act), 338 (endangering life or personal safety of other) and 34 (common intention). The police have now added IPC section 120B (criminal conspiracy) to the FIR.

As many as 17 people, including a former GM of Mumbai airport ATC and his wife, died after a massive billboard crashed onto a petrol pump in suburban Ghatkopar on May 13 when the city experience sudden dusty winds and unseasonal rains.

Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Court extends police custody of Bhavesh Bhinde till May 30

A court in Mumbai extended the police remand of Bhavesh Bhinde, director of advertising firm Ego Media Pvt Ltd, by one day on Wednesday. Bhinde was arrested on May 16 in connection with the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse that resulted in 17 fatalities.

During Tuesday's court session, the crime branch presented Bhinde to a metropolitan magistrate and asked for an extension of his custody in Ghatkopar hoarding collapse. Police said they needed additional time to face the accused with fresh evidence discovered during the investigation, characterising it as "complex and extensive."

Given the police's plea, the judge gave Bhinde one additional day of imprisonment, extending it until May 30.

The Ghatkopar hoarding collapse killed 17 people, including the previous general manager of Mumbai Airport ATC and his spouse. Bhinde is accused of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.