Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Two commissioners figure in the SIT chargesheet

Suspended IPS officer Quaiser Khalid a former Government Railway Police GRP commissioner and his successor Ravindra Shisve the current commissioner have had their statements recorded before the SIT of the Mumbai Crime Branch in connection with the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse which claimed 17 lives and left several injured Khalid stated that he allowed the hoarding only for the welfare of the police and he didnrsquot do anything illegalHowever he did not provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the illegality involved in allowing the hoardingHe shifted the responsibility to Shisve saying that what happened after he handed over the charge was the current commissionerrsquos responsibilityAccording to sources Shisversquos statement was recorded for not addressing the complaints about the illegality in Ghatkopar hoarding made to him after he took over the charge as GRP commissioner The SIT revealed these details in a 3299page charge sheet submitted on Friday before the 37th Esplanade court in MumbaiThe charge sheet has been submitted against the four arrested accused in the case Bhavesh Bhinde director and owner of Ego Media Manoj Ramkrishna Sanghu a BMCapproved structural engineer and Jhanvi Marathe former director of Ego Media and her associate Sagar Patil who didnrsquot ensure the foundation was deep and strong enough to support the 140x120foot hoardingAccording to the charge sheet the investigation will continue under Section 1738 of the CrPC to further ascertain the roles of the GRP and BMC officials The charge sheet also includes the statements of two BMC officials and six GRP officials including ShisveChargesheet detailsThe charge sheet also highlights the conversation between Khalid and Bhinde According to the charge sheet Marathe who was the director of the company when the process of obtaining sanctions for the hoarding was underway between 20202022 met with the then commissioner of GRP Ravindra Sengaonkar regarding the hoarding Sengaonkar correctly highlighted that the BMCrsquos permission was needed for the hoarding as the land belongs to the state government This condition was also mentioned in the tender floated by the railwayAccording to the charge sheet when Sengaonkar was transferred Khalid was appointed as commissioner The charge sheet reveals that Bhinde was an acquaintance of Khalid ldquoHe went to Khalidrsquos office on the first day after taking charge and met him At that time accused Marathe was also with himrdquo the charge sheet statesThe charge sheet further states that Khalid asked Bhinde ldquoTumko hoarding ka contract mila hain to bhi tum kam kyo chalu nahi karahe hordquoBhinde responded ldquoWe need to first get permission from BMC As per the former CP Sengaonkar we cannot put up a big hoarding without the BMCrsquos permissionBhartiya Railway ki jaga bata kar hum mahanagar palika ki bina permission hoarding ka kam kar sakte hai aur usme hum sab ka fayda ho sakta hai Bhinde told KhalidAt that time Khalid called Deputy Commissioner of Police Pradip Chavan with all the documents Chavan verified the documents related to the site Khalid then asked them to obtain two legal opinions one from Mr Stinson Pavlo a legal firm handling hoardingrelated court cases for Indian Railways and the other from retired judge Mr Nirgude The fees for these legal opinions were paid by Ego Media according to the charge sheetAfter receiving the legal feedback Khalid consulted the legal officer of the Railway Mr Shirsath Based on this feedback Khalid concluded that ldquoRailway Police is part of Indian Railways and BMC permission is not requiredrdquoAllegations against KhalidAccording to the SIT Khalid allowed the hoarding without any tender and without getting permission from the director general of policersquos DGP office which is mandatory Despite knowing that the office had already rejected the proposal for a hoarding in Ghatkopar in January 2021 due to jurisdictional and legal errors he went ahead and approved it on his last day in office December 18 2022 His transfer order came on December 16 and he handed over charge to Shisve on the afternoon of December 18 after signing the papers allowing the hoarding which violates the 80x80 limit on hoardings in MumbaiThe DGP office was unaware that Khalid had granted the permission It was Shisve who took over as GRP commissioner and later sent a proposal to regularise the illegal hoarding However the DGP office took strong cognisance and initiated an internal probe against Khalid for allowing the hoarding despite the DGPrsquos officersquos refusal While the office was conducting its probe the hoarding collapsed on May 13 this yearThe DGP office asked the Railway DGP to submit a report The DGP office also conducted its own inquiry and recommended to the home department that Khalid be suspended after finding gross irregularities and administrative lapses in sanctioning the hoarding The department suspended Khalid on June 25 based on the reportWhat Khalid saidAccording to the SIT Khalidrsquos response was unsatisfactory regarding the irregularities and failure to follow proper procedures before sanctioning the hoarding contracts to Ego Media Khalid claimed he had not done anything illegal and that his actions were taken for the benefit of the Police Welfare Fund When asked why a tender was not issued and the DGPrsquos permission was not sought he stated that since the DGP office had allowed three similar hoardings to Ego Media he proceeded in the same mannerHowever when questioned by the SIT about the irregularities particularly given that the land belongs to the state government and the BMC is the licensing authority Khalid did not provide a satisfactory response He also stated that what happened after he handed over the charge to Shisve was not his responsibilityWhy Shisversquos statement was recordedAccording to sources officials recorded the statement of Shisve for not acting on a complaint made by the former corporator of Ghatkopar regarding irregularities in the hoarding case He was also questioned about the proposal he sent to the DGP office to regularise the illegal hoarding sanctioned by Khalid The officials did not disclose what Shisve said in his statement as they continue their probe to ascertain the roles of government officials determining whether there was criminal or administrative negligence The SIT has cited 102 witnesses six GRP staffers and two BMC workers as well as 90 statements of those injured and the relatives of the deceased in its charge sheetWhy did the hoarding collapseAccording to the charge sheet the structural design and fitness certificate were manipulated Bhinde misled Railways and obtained permission for larger hoardings that lacked the necessary strength to support a 140x120 feet structure Despite being aware of this the accused in collusion with other conspirators including the designer and structural engineer provided falsified reports to make money leading to the collapse of the hoarding on May 13The charge sheet relies on an audit report submitted by VJTI It states that the foundation of the hoarding structure could withstand winds of up to 497 kmh However on May 13 the hoarding was subjected to winds with a speed of 87 kmh which exceeded its capacity As per the mandate all structures in the Mumbai region should be designed to withstand wind speeds of 1584 kmh ldquoThe collapse of the structure is due to inadequatedeficient design and construction of the foundationrdquo reads the charge sheetAccording to the charge sheet the illegal hoarding was listed in the Limca Book of Records for being the tallest and Bhinde celebrated the achievement along with Marathe on December 9 2023