The Mumbai Police Crime Branch, investigating the May 2024 Ghatkopar hoarding collapse that killed 17 people, has submitted a report to the Maharashtra Home Department alleging criminal misconduct by suspended IPS officer Quaiser Khalid. The report suggests Khalid’s actions led to financial losses for the state and could be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).
The Crime Branch has recommended transferring the case to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which handles PCA cases. The report claims that while the hoarding was erected on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) land, Khalid, then the Government Railway Police (GRP) Commissioner, allegedly instructed a law officer to falsely declare it as railway property. It also highlights irregularities in the hoarding’s tendering process.
While Khalid has not been directly linked to financial transactions, the chargesheet notes that accused Arshad Khan received ₹84 lakh from hoarding owner Bhavesh Bhinde. Khan, a partner in a company where Khalid’s wife was also a partner, allegedly deposited cheques from Bhinde into various accounts before converting them into cash.
The Maharashtra government, which suspended Khalid, is reviewing the report. ACB has also summoned him in a separate bribery case but he has not appeared yet.
