Ghatkopar Hoarding Collapse Case: Prime Accused Bhavesh Bhinde Gets Bail

A Mumbai court here on Saturday, October 20, granted bail to advertising firm director Bhavesh Bhinde, a prime accused in the Mumbai's Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case that claimed 17 lives in May this year. Bhinde's bail plea was allowed by additional sessions Judge V M Pathade. The detailed order was not available yet.

Bhinde, through his lawyer Sana Khan, had contended the unfortunate incident was an "act of God", and that he was implicated for "political vendetta". The hoarding installed in the suburban Ghatkopar area collapsed due to "unexpected, unusual wind speed", and no fault can be attributed to the applicant (whose firm had installed it), advocate Khan argued.

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It was also submitted that Bhinde was not the director of the firm at the time of the installation of the gigantic hoarding. Bhinde has been booked for `culpable homicide not amounting to murder.' The prosecution opposed bail to him, saying there was enough evidence to show that Bhinde was actively involved in the case.

As many as 17 people, including a former general manager of the Mumbai airport's Air Traffic Control and his wife, died after the billboard crashed onto a petrol pump on May 13 during sudden dusty winds and unseasonal rains. It was alleged that the hoarding had been put up illegally on railway land.