Mumbai: A Mumbai sessions court on Thursday granted bail to Arshad Khan, one of the accused in the 2024 Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case. Khan had been declared a wanted accused and was arrested in December 2024. With his release, all five individuals arrested in the case, including the main accused Bhavesh Bhinde, are now out on bail.
Massive Hoarding Collapse Claimed 17 Lives
The incident took place on May 13, 2024, when a massive hoarding, allegedly built beyond the permissible height limits, collapsed, leading to the tragic deaths of 17 people. Investigations revealed that the hoarding was operated by Bhinde’s company, Ego Media.
Last month, the crime branch filed a chargesheet against Khan, alleging that he had received payments from Bhinde’s firm through multiple bank transactions. The police claimed that these payments were made in exchange for obtaining permissions from the Government Railway Police (GRP) for the illegally constructed hoarding.
Khan was also linked to IPS officer Qaiser Khalid, as both were co-directors in a company where Khalid’s wife was a director. At the time of the hoarding’s installation, Khalid was serving as the GRP commissioner and was responsible for overseeing permissions related to such structures. When the court had rejected Khan’s bail plea in January, it noted that several details in the chargesheet raised suspicions about the officer’s involvement.
According to an Indian Express report, during the bail hearing, Khan’s lawyer argued that despite allegations of collusion with officials, no government authorities from the railway, railway police, or civic body had been named as accused in the case.
She also contended that the financial transactions flagged by the police were unrelated to the hoarding permissions and were linked to other business activities. While the court granted Khan bail, the detailed order outlining the reasons for the decision is yet to be made available.
