Highlights
- According to Additional Public Prosecutor, Advocate HS Panchal, Parekh made the claim in the court on Wednesday.
- Panchal also said that during the hearing it was revealed that the cable wires of the bridge were not in the ideal condition to be opened for the general masses
- Oreva Group which was tasked with the maintenance of the century-old bridge is accused of hastily reopening it, without doing proper renovation works to cash in on the Diwali crowd.
Deepak Parekh, a manager of the Oreva Group, who the police have arrested in connection with the Morbi bridge collapse, has reportedly told the court that the tragedy was an act of God.
According to Additional Public Prosecutor, Advocate HS Panchal, Parekh made the claim in the court on Wednesday.
Act of God: arrested maganger
“One of the two managers of Oreva company told the court that it is an ‘Act of God,” Panchal said.
A total of nine people, including two managers, gatekeepers, security guards and fabrication workers, were arrested in connection with the tragedy that claimed 135 lives on Sunday.
They were booked under Indian Penal Code Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Cables not in the condition to be opened
On Wednesday, a court in Morbi sent four accused in the case to police custody till Saturday, and the other five have been sent to judicial custody. Out of four persons in Police custody, two are Oreva company Managers, and two others are people working for the fabrication work contractor.
Panchal also said that during the hearing it was revealed that the cable wires of the bridge were not in the ideal condition to be opened for the general masses and were “rusting away”.
“In the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, the Investigating Officer (IO) said that the cable (of the bridge)was rusting away. The Investigating Officer says that only flooring of the bridge was done and the cables were not changed, oiling-greasing also wasn’t done,” Advocate HS Panchal said. Adding that Prima facie, the FSL officer says it was an old cable.
Rush to open costs lives
Oreva Group which was tasked with the maintenance of the century-old bridge is accused of hastily reopening it, without doing proper renovation works to cash in on the Diwali crowd.
‘Act of God’ controversy
Several opposition leaders and many on social media had also made the ‘Act of God’ comment following the tragic incident on Sunday.
This was a vague reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comment in 2016.
Following the Vivekananda Road flyover collapse in Kolkata, which happened right before the Bengal Assembly elections, the PM had targeted Mamata Banerjee, calling it an “act of fraud” and a message from God.
The 232-meter-long bridge over the Machchu river had collapsed because it could not handle the weight of the large crowd, just five days after it had opened to the public after ‘renovation’.
