MUMBAI: Arshad Khan, a businessman who was accused of receiving ₹46 lakh from Ego Media Private Limited—the company at the center of the hoarding collapse tragedy that claimed 17 lives—has been arrested by the Crime Branch.
Arshad Khan, the Govandi-based businessman, had taken more than Rs one crore from Ego Media directors Bhavesh Bhinde and Janhavi Marathe to get approved for the fateful hoarding. Khan has been absconding since his name cropped up in July this year and his anticipatory bail was rejected.
Khan is alleged to have ties with former GRP Chief Quaiser Khalid his wife and Ego media director Bhavesh Bhinde.
The SIT probing the financial trail of Ego Media’s bank accounts discovered that Ego Media, which managed the alleged illegal hoarding, had remitted Rs 46.5 lakhs through 39 transactions in 10 different bank accounts between 2021 and 2022, and the money was later taken by Arshad Khan. However, Khan has stated that he had supplied branded goods and spectacles to Bhinde, for which he had received money from Bhinde. The money has also been transferred to Khan’s two close relatives. These two relatives too have not given any justifications in this regard.
The tragic incident on May 13, where a giant 120 by 140 hoarding on the GRP ground owned by Ego Media collapsed due to strong winds, claimed the lives of at least 17 people and injured more than 70 others. Police have so far arrested four persons, namely Bhavesh Bhinde, Janhavi Marathe, Sagar Patil, and Manoj Sanghu.