New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pull up the Gujarat government to come clean on what he claimed to be a "sloppy investigation process" in the Morbi bridge collapse incident.
In a tweet, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge levelled a series of allegations. "Rusted cable of the bridge was NOT repaired. Bridge opened on Oct 26 without fitness certificate and official consent. Contractor was not qualified for the job. Municipality Chief knew that the bridge was open a day before the tragedy," he wrote.
"Over 130 dead and no action been taken against the contractors and municipal officials? Is this negligence too an act of god," Kharge questioned. "The PM should pull up his Govt to come clean on this sloppy investigation process," he added.
The British-era suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi town collapsed on Sunday evening, claiming 135 lives.
Morbi Bridge Collapse An 'Act Of God': Accused To Gujarat Court
According to news agency PTI, a manager of the Oreva group, one of the nine persons arrested in connection with the case, sought relief from a local court claiming the tragedy was an "act of God", the prosecution.
In their defence during arguments on remand application on Tuesday, one of the Oreva managers had sought relief on the ground that he was just doing the job given to him by the company and the tragedy was merely an "act of God", public prosecutor HS Panchal told reporters, as quoted by PTI.
Citing a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, Panchal had told the court on Tuesday that experts believed the tragedy occurred after the main cable of the bridge snapped because of the weight of the new flooring.
As per PTI, the court was also informed that both the repairing contractors were "not qualified" to carry out such work.
ALSO READ | 'One Of The Reasons...': EC On Allegations Of Delaying Gujarat Poll Dates Due To PM's Morbi Visit
Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan on Tuesday remanded four of the arrested accused -- two managers of the Oreva group and two sub-contractors who had repaired the ill-fated bridge -- in police custody till Saturday (November 5). The other five accused were remanded in judicial custody and sent to jail.
The four accused remanded in police custody include Oreva managers Dipak Parekh and Dinesh Dave, and repair contractors Prakash Parmar and Devang Parmar, hired by the Ahmedabad-headquartered corporate group.
The Gujarat Police had on Monday booked the nine arrested persons under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), among others, after the tragic incident.