Manoj Kumar Sanghu, the engineer approved by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) who issued the structural certificate for the 120x140 feet illegal hoarding that collapsed on May 13, has been remanded to police custody till June 5. Sanghu is the second arrest in the case after Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of EGO Media Private Limited, to whom the hoarding belonged.
According to crime branch officials, Sanghu was placed under arrest on Thursday. Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhami Gautam told the FPJ that Sanghu had issued the stability certificate to Bhinde’s Ego Media in April 2023. Knowing BMC’s prescribed hoarding size not to exceed 40x40 feet, Sanghu allegedly approved it despite the hoarding being 120x140 feet.
Police discovered Sanghu’s involvement during the interrogation with Bhinde and several documents they seized from Bhinde’s residence.
Thursday being the last day of Bhinde’s police custody, he has now been remanded to judicial custody. Meanwhile, the police have got some more documents from the Government Railway Police (GRP) ACP Shahaji Nikam that suggest that the hoarding that collapsed did not have official approval and that it was approved by the then GRP commissioner Quaiser Khalid, without a tender. Khalid had allegedly approved it after receiving a transfer notice from the government, making the entire thing unlawful, said police officials.
After the two arrests, the third arrest will be the ex-director of Ego Media Private Limited – Janhvahi Marathe (45) – who served as the firm's director while the approval of the collapsed hoarding took place. On Thursday, the police team visited Marathe’s residence in Thane but she was absconding and later the SIT discovered Marathe’s anticipatory bail plea in the session court, which the court rejected Friday.
On Friday, police sources revealed that since the dismissal of the pre-arrest plea, she will soon be placed under arrest. Marathe is believed to have had a role in the hoarding collapse incident because she received financial benefits from Ego Media and Bhinde even after she resigned from the firm in December 2023. Police officials mentioned that Marathe bought a Mercedes car and the instalment for the same is still being paid by Ego Media. The final signature for the erection of the collapsed hoarding document, which was submitted to the GRP, was signed by Marathe, the police added, hence her involvement is ‘direct and active’. Meanwhile, Marathe told the court that she was being made a ‘scapegoat’ and Bhinde as the ‘main culprit’ – who is currently remanded to judicial custody.
