Mumbai billboard collapse leaves 14 dead: All you need to know

📌 The billboard, which fell onto some houses and a petrol station alongside a busy road, caused significant disruptions, trapping scores of people and bringing parts of the city to a standstill.

📌 The Pant Nagar police, under whose jurisdiction the Mumbai hoarding collapse incident took place, on Monday night registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Bhavesh Prabhudas Bhinde, 51, the director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd which had the contract for the hoarding on a 10-year lease.

📌 According to documents, Bhinde was booked in a rape case by the Mumbai police earlier this year. Bhinde, who contested as an Independent candidate in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections, had also declared 21 instances where he was fined under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act for putting up banners without permission and two offences related to the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act that usually pertain to cheque bouncing.

📌 The GRP said that it had received a letter from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last week recommending action against the advertiser on the removal of the hoarding based on the complaints in connection with the alleged drying up of trees alongside the road. “We had started the proceedings but before the action could be taken, the (tragic) incident occurred,” the GRP said in a statement released by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Admin) Shahaji Nikam.

📌 After the hoarding collapsed, rescue operations extended into the early hours of Tuesday, and operations at Mumbai’s airport, one of the busiest in the country, were also disrupted. DRF Inspector Gaurav Chauhan said “There are two teams including 53 personnel. We have been continuing this operation for the last 18 hours. We have so far recovered 14 bodies and 74 injured persons. They have been sent to hospitals. The hoarding fell on the petrol pump and hence we are not using the cutting equipment. It can cause a spark and create other scenario. We used a hydraulic crane but it was not successful. We are using manual techniques. The operation is expected to be over by this evening.”

📌 Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar assured the public that strict legal actions are forthcoming. “Heartfelt condolences to families who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate mishap at Ghatkopar,” Phansalkar said on his official X handle. He confirmed that a case has been registered against Bhavesh Bhinde, owner of M/s Ego Media Private Limited, and others, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

📌 “BMC allows a maximum hoarding size of 40×40 feet. However, the billboard that collapsed was 120×120 feet. As a result, the local ward office issued a notice to the agency today, asking them to dismantle the structure and remove all hoardings with immediate effect,” the civic authorities said on Monday.

📌 Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who visited the site on Monday evening, has ordered a structural audit of all hoardings in the city. He announced, “Hoarding found to be illegal and dangerous will be removed immediately,” while also committing an aid of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each deceased victim.

📌 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow warning for Tuesday, indicating hot and humid conditions for Mumbai while a heatwave warning has been issued for Thane. The weather department has not predicted any rain activity for today.

📌 The rain also heavily affected Mumbai’s suburban train lines, with a reported 170 local train services being cancelled throughout the day, causing significant commuter delays.

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