The Maharashtra government has taken big action in two major cases at the same time. The state government has suspended Maharashtra cadre senior IPS officer Quesar Khalid in connection with the hoarding incident in Mumbai.
Recently, senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had written to state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to remove IPS Kaiser Khalid in the hoarding case in Mumbai. In this, he disclosed that Ego Media Limited, which was responsible for the hoarding incident in Mumbai on May 13, had paid a huge amount to Qaiser Khalid's wife.
After this, action was likely to be taken against Qaiser Khalid. On May 13, 17 people were killed and over 70 injured when an illegal hoarding collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area. On that day, a hoarding fell on a petrol pump during a strong wind and dust storm.
Why Suspend IPS Officers?
In the investigation into the Ghatkopar hoarding incident in Mumbai, IPS Qaiser Khalid has been accused of misusing his powers. It is alleged that he allowed the installation of 120 X 140 square feet hoarding ignoring all norms. Mohammad Qaiser Khalid will now report to headquarters in Mumbai, the order stated.
He cannot leave the headquarters without the permission of the DGP. In Ghatkopar, the land where the hoarding was put up, it was under the custody of the Government Railway Police and permission to erect hoardings near the petrol pump was granted to M/s Ego Media Pvt Ltd for 10 years with the approval of the then GRP Commissioner Qaiser Khalid.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the hoarding collapse incident. Qaiser Khalid is a 1997 batch IPS officer. 52-year-old Khalid hails from Araria district in Bihar.
The foundation of the hoarding was weak
A report submitted by the Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology (VJTI) said the foundation of the hoarding was inadequate and weak.
The VJTI report said that the structure of any hoarding should be able to withstand a wind speed of 158 km per hour, but the collapsed hoarding was able to withstand a wind speed of only 49 km per hour. The official said that the wind speed was 87 km per hour on the day of the incident. Bhavesh Bhinde, Director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd was arrested by the police after the accident.
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