New revelations are emerging daily in the Ghatkopar hoarding case. It has come to light that during the tenure of then Railway Police Commissioner Qaiser Khalid, the size of the hoardings and the duration of the contracts were extended. The Mumbai Crime Branch, which is investigating this case, has recorded the statement of Assistant Commissioner of the Administration Department of Mumbai GRP Police, Shahji Nikam. This information has emerged in Nikam's statement and may increase the problems for Qaiser Khalid.
The investigation into the permissions given for hoardings by the Railway Police Commissionerate revealed that during the tenure of then Railway Police Commissioner Ravindra Sengavkar, in January 2021, permission was granted for installing three 40 x 40 feet hoardings through a tender process. These three tenders were awarded to Bhinde's company for a period of 10 years. After Sengavkar's transfer, Qaiser Khalid was appointed as the Railway Police Commissioner in February 2021.
Read Also | Mumbai Hoarding Collapse: Bhavesh Bhinde's Police Custody Extended Till May 30
During Qaiser Khalid's tenure, on December 7, 2021, the three 40 x 40 feet hoardings were permitted to be increased to the size of 80 x 80 feet. Additionally, on July 7, 2022, the tender period was extended from 10 years to 30 years. Bhinde's company applied to the Railway Police Commissionerate to install another hoarding similar to the three existing ones. This is the hoarding that eventually crashed. Meanwhile, on December 16, 2022, a transfer order for Qaiser Khalid was issued.
After the transfer order was issued, Khalid signed the file granting permission for the hoarding on Sunday, December 18, 2022, which was a holiday. The size of this fourth hoarding was increased to 140 x 120 square feet.
Sources revealed that the monthly rent for an 80 x 80 hoarding was 13 lakh rupees, while the rent for a 140 x 120 hoarding was more than 11 lakh rupees per month.
On May 13, the collapse of a hoarding in Ghatkopar resulted in the death of 17 people. The contract to install this hoarding was awarded to Ego Media Private Limited. Permission was granted for an 80 x 80 feet hoarding, but a 120 x 120 feet hoarding was installed. On May 16, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested Bhinde from a resort in Udaipur, Rajasthan.