Ghatkopar Hoarding Collapse: Engineer who said hoarding structure was ‘safe and stable’, arrested

Mulund resident Sanghu was arrested on Thursday and will be produced in the court Friday, officials said.

The arrest followed a probe by the Mumbai Crime Branch SIT, which found that the Ego Media Pvt Ltd had earlier presented a structural stability certificate issued by City Engineering Services (CES) to the Government Railway Police (GRP) and other departments concerned.

Knowing that the BMC’s size limit for a hoarding in Mumbai is 40 ft x 40 ft, the audit firm CEC gave structural stability certificate to Ego Media Pvt Ltd and also mentioned the large size of the hoarding in the certificate.

The certificate, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, stated, “This is to certify that the 120 ft x 70 ft DD-DS (5 poles) at GRP Land, has been designed in accordance to take care of wind forces as per IS: 875 (Part IM), 2015. The connection details have been designed as per IS: 00-2007. The foundation for the hoarding has also been designed in accordance with the provisions made in IS: 456-2000. Hence, the above-mentioned hoarding is structurally safe and stable for the purposes intended.”

Meanwhile, Bhavesh Bhinde, the prime accused in the case, was sent to judicial custody by the court on Thursday. Bhinde was arrested on May 16 from Udaipur in Rajasthan. The SIT has also added section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) in the case.

Another accused in the case, Janhavi Marathe, who is also one of the directors of Ego Media Private Limited, has moved the sessions court seeking pre-arrest bail in the case. The SIT has opposed her bail application.