Mumbai: The fugitive owner of EGO Media, Bhavesh Bhinde (51), was apprehended by the Mumbai Crime Branch-9 in Udaipur, Rajasthan, on Thursday in connection with the Ghatkopar hoarding crash incident. According to a Crime Branch officer, "Bhinde was arrested from a hotel in Udaipur, and the police will bring him to Mumbai on Friday evening. Nine teams were formed by the police for his search, and with both human and technical assistance, he was apprehended."
The illegal, massive hoarding collapsed onto BPCL's petrol outlet on the Eastern Express Highway, Ghatkopar (E), on Monday, resulting in multiple fatalities and leaving numerous individuals severely injured. Following the incident, the Pant Nagar police filed a case against Bhinde based on the BMC's complaint on Monday.
Subsequently, police teams were dispatched to his office and residential addresses in Mulund, both of which were found locked. Later that Tuesday night, the Crime Branch joined the investigation led by the Pant Nagar police.
Bhinde had three mobile numbers, and the police were continuously tracking him. Of these, only one was active. Based on his location, it was determined that he had travelled from Mumbai to Lonavala by road. It was discovered that he owned a resort in Lonavala, prompting several teams to investigate there as well. However, upon arrival, Bhinde had already departed two hours prior.
On Wednesday morning, the police team returned to Ghatkopar for bandobast duty in preparation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow rally. Subsequently, a new plan was made, and a set of police and Crime Branch teams were dispatched to Gujarat and Rajasthan to locate Bhinde.
One of Bhinde's numbers, allegedly used for communication with family, relatives, and friends, had been traced. Based on his movements, Bhinde travelled from Lonavala to Nashik, then Gujarat, and finally to Rajasthan. Meanwhile, the police alerted their intelligence network in and around Gujarat to monitor his movements alongside local authorities.
Nine teams have been actively pursuing Bhinde, with technical support aiding in call data record (CDR) analysis and location tracking. Bhinde, a businessman previously fined 21 times under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act for illegal hoardings, also faces a rape case registered with the Mulund police in January. Additionally, he contested as an independent candidate in the 2009 Assembly polls from Mulund, and lost.
The FIR filed by the Pant Nagar police, Bhinde and his company have been charged under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering personal safety of others), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any act rashly or negligently endangering human life), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
