Bhinde says he was not director when Ghatkopar hoarding put up; police says he was aware of illegality

Seeking his custody, inspector A Sawant from crime branch (unit VII) said that apart from the hoarding that fell on the petrol pump, there were three other hoardings of the same size. “This means major investment could be involved and hence we need to find out who else was involved apart from him for which we need his custodial interrogation,” Sawant argued.

Arguing for Bhinde, lawyer Rizwan Merchant said that as per the Registrar of Company records, Bhinde was appointed the director of Ego Media on December 21, 2023. The contract for the hoarding was given on November 22, 2022 to Ego Media as per a letter granting permission issued by the GRP to Ego Media.

“He was not the director when permission was given and was not linked to the company. He only became the director after an earlier director resigned. Hence there was no reason to arrest him,” Merchant argued. He further argued that Bhinde was not given grounds of arrest which is mandatory as per procedure.

He further said that on Monday, when the incident took place, winds were blowing at 96 kmph which qualifies as a storm and thus the incident was an ‘act of god’.

The police, however, argued that if Bhinde was not guilty, there was no reason for him to flee from his residence soon after the incident.

The police also said that the reasons for the arrest were orally communicated to Bhinde.

On the issue of his role, the police said that it would be a part of trial and at this stage they needed to interrogate him since he was the director. After hearing both sides, the magistrate remanded Bhinde to the custody of the crime branch till May 26.

Later, a senior officer said, “Even if he was not a director when the hoarding permission was granted, even if he was the middleman, he is still culpable. Also, when he was eventually made director, he was aware that the hoarding was illegal but did not do anything about it.”
The officer said that they would also be recording the statement of the auditing company which gave them a safety certificate to the hoarding to check whether all proper procedures were followed.