Police directed to file affidavit on Bhavesh Bhide's bail plea

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Friday directed the police to file a detailed affidavit in response to the bail plea filed by Bhavesh Bhide, director of an advertising company and the prime accused in the hoarding collapse incident in Ghatkopara on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The court said the petition also raised the issue of illegal arrest as the accused was not given the required notice under Section 41 (A) of the Criminal Code. The police will have to clarify its stand in this matter as several judgments have stated that immediate release is required in case of illegal detention. The court has fixed the hearing on July 26, saying that the public prosecutor will file a detailed affidavit.

Bhavesh Bhinde, director of Ego Media Private Limited, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging his arrest, seeking bail till the disposal of the petition. In which Bhinde has said that the incident of hoarding falling on May 13, in which 17 people died and 80 people were injured, was part of a natural disaster. Therefore, I am not responsible for it. Bhinde has said in his bail application that it was an 'act of God' i.e. a natural disaster. Also, to justify this claim, the Beaufort scale has also been mentioned in the application, according to which the speed of wind is measured.

Bhide has also said in his petition that the weather forecast of the Indian Meteorological Department at 1.45 pm on May 12, 2024 did not indicate any possibility of strong thunderstorms or strong winds in Mumbai. However, on May 13, winds blew at a speed of 60 to 96 kmph in Mumbai. This was natural and no one had experienced it before. Therefore, the situation that arose was a type of natural disaster and it was an 'act of God', the petition said.

On May 13, 2024, a huge hoarding in Ghatkopar (E) fell on a petrol pump here due to strong winds. In this tragedy, the bodies of 14 people were recovered from under the debris of the hoarding. After this, the death toll reached 17 due to other deaths during treatment. So Bhide said that he was not responsible for this accident and demanded that he be granted bail.