Football tournament organisers booked after gallery collapsed, leaving 55 injured in Kothamangalam
Kochi, Apr 21 (PTI): A case has been registered against the organising committee of a football tournament following the accident in which a gallery collapsed near Kothamangalam, here, police said on Monday.
The Pothanikad police registered the case against six persons under sections 125 (a) and 125 (b) (endangering life or personal safety of others) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after inspecting the accident site, police officers said.
The collapse happened at the Malik Dinar Public School ground, where the final of the tournament organised by the local club 'Hero Youngs Club and Reading Room, Adivadu' was set to take place.
The six persons, who are functionaries of Hero Youngs Club and Reading Room permitted more spectators without providing adequate safety measures into the temporary gallery set up at the ground, according to the FIR.
Preliminary inquiry suggests that the gallery, constructed using bamboo poles, gave way after its supports sank into the rain-soaked ground, a police officer said.
Of the 55 injured, four remain under treatment at various private hospitals in Thodupuzha and Kothamangalam.
Thousands of spectators had gathered to watch the match, as the tournament had been going on for the past two weeks.
The gallery collapse took place just minutes before kickoff, during a pre-match parade where organisers were displaying the winners' trophy inside the ground by 10.05 pm on Sunday.
According to police sources, the functionaries of the club stated that emergency rescue operations were launched immediately after the incident and that none of the injuries were critical.
They also claimed all necessary permissions had been obtained prior to the event, they added.
However, the police said an inquiry is underway.
At least 35 people were injured when a makeshift gallery collapsed during the final of a local #football tournament at Malik Deenar Public School in Adivadu, #Pallarimangalam, on Sunday night. The incident occurred at 10 pm, just before the match was set to begin, as around 2,000… pic.twitter.com/V6z3be7qlu
— News9 (@News9Tweets) April 21, 2025
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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
