Mumbai hoarding collapse: Key accused nabbed from Lucknow

Mumbai Police have arrested a key accused in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse case from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, officials said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as businessman Arshad Khan (42), was on the run for the last seven months after being called to record his statement in connection with the case, an official said. As many as 17 persons were killed and more than 80 injured after the gigantic illegal hoarding crashed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar area in Mumbai amid gusty winds and rain on May 13.
During the investigation, it came to light that Ego Media Private Limited, which installed the hoarding, had transferred Rs 82 lakh to the bank accounts of some people linked to Arshad Khan, the official said. Khan was a business associate of the wife of former Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Quaiser Khalid, he said. After recording his initial statement, Khan did not turn up before the Mumbai Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has been conducting the probe into the case.
The police were searching for Khan for the last couple of months, but he kept changing his location, the official said. Khan was finally apprehended from Lucknow on Sunday, he added. Khalid, who was the Government Railway Police commissioner when the hoarding was sanctioned on the GRP land, has been suspended for alleged lapses.There were several transactions from the bank accounts of Ego Media Private Limited to the accounts of people linked to Khan.Most of these transactions took place when Khalid was GRP commissioner, police earlier claimed.
Four individuals, including Bhavesh Bhinde, Janhavi Marathe, Sagar Patil, and Manoj Sanghu, have already been arrested and chargesheeted in connection with the incident. The Crime Branch’s investigation is continuing against BMC and GRP officials, who have been passing the blame onto each other.