Police book BJP leaders after canopy collapse at Modi rally
Kolkata, July 17: A day after a canopy collapsed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in West Bengal's Midnapore town, injuring nearly 90 people, police on Tuesday booked the rally organisers, the state BJP, for attempted culpable homicide, police said.
"A case has been filed against the organisers of the Prime Minister's event under Section 308 of IPC for attempting to commit culpable homicide. They have also been booked for causing hurt by acts endangering life or personal safety of others," an officer said.
Along with the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the contractor and decorator who built the canopy for Modi's event, has also been booked under the same sections.
A section of the makeshift canopy collapsed minutes after Modi started his address at the Midnapore College ground on Monday afternoon. Ninety people - 24 of them women - were taken to hospital after the accident.
Modi stopped speaking for a few minutes when the structure collapsed to urge the audience to move to a safer area. He also instructed officials to make arrangements for the treatment of the injured.
After the rally, Modi visited the injured in the hospital.
The state forensic team visited the rally ground on Tuesday and pointed out many reasons that might have caused the structure to cave in.
"First, the soft condition of the ground due to rains, the second shallow digging of the iron poles (3-4 inches), the fixing plate had four joints out of which only one was fastened with a nut bolt," said Chitrakhsya Sarkar of state Forensic Science Laboratory.
The state BJP leadership cited rains and overcrowding for the mishap but blamed the police for not taking necessary security measures or controlling the crowd.
"Police did not hold a single meeting with the organisers. The local administration simply overlooked the security aspect of the Prime Minister's meeting. Now they cannot shrug off their responsibility," Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said.
"It might be due to rains or the pressure of crowd. But the police should have checked the security aspects more diligently," he added.
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Statewide ban on IV Ringer Lactate usage: Dinesh Gundu Rao
Bengaluru: In response to the deaths of postnatal women at Ballari District Hospital, the Karnataka government has temporarily suspended the use of IV Ringer Lactate solution across the state as a precautionary measure, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced on Saturday.
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, the minister explained that doubts about the quality of the IV solution had arisen, prompting the decision. He clarified that Ringer Lactate, along with glucose solutions, has been routinely used in hospitals for years. However, out of the 192 batches supplied by the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society, concerns were raised regarding two specific batches.
"In light of these concerns, we stopped the use of all 192 batches as a precaution. Following this, the supplying company obtained a High Court order for testing, and the Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) conducted an analysis. The CDL report confirmed the usability of the solution, allowing the state to form a technical committee to review and permit the use of certain batches that met quality standards. Despite this, doubts have surfaced specifically at Ballari District Hospital," the minister stated.
To address these concerns, the batches supplied to Ballari Hospital have been sent for anaerobic testing to determine whether the IV solution contributed to the deaths. The test results are expected within a week, after which a final decision on the use of IV Ringer Lactate will be made.
"Until then, we have issued directives to hospitals statewide to suspend the use of IV Ringer Lactate. Every life is important to us, and precautionary measures are essential when suspicions arise," Gundu Rao emphasised.
