Mohammed Arshad Nizamuddin Khan (43), a businessman from Govandi | Image accessed from FPJ
Mumbai: Arshad Khan, one of the key accused in the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse, sought bail, claiming that the probe against him is biased. He is said to be the business partner of a senior IPS official, who has come under scanner for allegedly flouting norms to grant permission to the ill-fated hoarding, which claimed 17 lives in May 2024.
According to the prosecution, Khan received more than Rs1 crore from Ego Media, the firm which erected the killer hoarding, to bribe the officials and secure the permissions. It was also revealed that between July 2021 and December 2023, Rs 84 lakh was transferred into 18 accounts by Ego Media and Gujju Ads Pvt Ltd.
Khan was caught from Uttar Pradesh in December 2024 after being on the run for seven months. The police said that he played a key role in helping Ego Media secure permission from the railway police commissioner office to erect the massive hoarding.
In his bail plea, Khan questioned that if it’s true that he bribed top police officials then why their names are not included in the case. “The allegations against the applicant are that of colluding with the (railway) commissioner of police to obtain the permissions. However, the investigating agency has not made any of the commissioners as accused. This shows that the investigation is baseless and biased,” read Khan’s plea.
Besides, he claimed that he was called to join the probe in June 2024 and at that time his detailed statement was recorded. Also, he said that he had handed over his phone with a password. Khan further alleged that the chargesheet doesn’t link him with conspiracy in any way. He vouched that he is not at all a beneficiary of any amount or profits earned by Ego media. Lastly, he pointed out that the other key accused have been granted bail.
Objecting to the plea, the prosecution said that the order granting bail to other accused has already been challenged before the high court. Similarly, the investigating officer appraised the court that there is enough evidence against Khan.
The prosecution argued that he was instrumental in procuring the hoarding permissions from the office of railway police commissioner under the assumption that the land, where the board was to come up, belonged to railways. The tactic was to bypass the necessity to take permission from the BMC, it added.
