Will of God that Morbi bridge should collapse: Arrested Oreva manager says in court
Morbi: The Oreva company manager, who has been arrested for the collapse of the bridge here, has attributed the incident to the ‘will of God’ in court.
Dipak Parekh, who is among the nine arrested for the collapse on Sunday, told Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan, “It was bhagwan ki iccha (will of God) that such an unfortunate incident should happen.”
Oreva company had the responsibility of maintaining the 150-year-old bridge, the crash of which killed 135 people.
P A Zala, DySP of Morbi, told the court that the cable of the bridge had rusted but not replaced during renovation, reported NDTV. Also, the reopening of the bridge to the public on October 26 had had neither government approval nor quality testing.
“Only the platform had been changed during maintenance and repair. The bridge stood on a cable, which had not been oiled or greased. The cable had oxidized from the point where the bridge has crashed. The crash of the bridge could have been prevented by replacing the cable,” the officer said.
A prosecutor added that the contractors handling the repair of the bridge were not qualified for maintenance of public infrastructure, adding, “In spite of this, the contractors were given the work on the bridge in 2007, then in 2022.”
Further, the old, oxidized cables could not take the increased weight of the bridge, which was given a four-layered, aluminium sheet flooring, and snapped.
Locals have said that Oreva Managing Director Jaysukhbhai Patel has not been seen since the tragedy. The head of the company had claimed publicly that the bridge, now renovated, would stand for a decade. Patel and his family were last seen reportedly at the opening of the renovated bridge.
The police FIR does not mention the names of the company bosses nor the officials of the Morbi municipality who handed the contract to the company.
The farmhouse of Oreva in Ahmedabad has been locked and abandoned.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
