The Morbi bridge collapse incident reached a local court in Gujarat on Tuesday, 1 November, and amid claims from multiple sides, loopholes in the making and repair of the bridge came to light.
While the prosecution said that the contractors who worked on the bridge repair lacked the necessary training to handle such tasks, one of the managers of the company responsible for its maintenance Deepak Parekh said:
“It was the will of God (Bhagwan ni ichcha) that such an unfortunate event happened," The Indian Express reported.
The Morbi Bridge collapse claimed 135 lives on the evening of 30 October.
The bridge had been under renovation for the last seven months and had been reopened to the public on 26 October.
In the aftermath of the collapse, nine officials of the Gujarat-based Oreva group, including Parekh were arrested on 31 October,
The case reached the court because the officer investigating the case Morbi Deputy Superintendent of Police P A Zala, sought a 10-day remand of four of the nine arrested.
In between claims and counter-claims, here's a lowdown on what transpired in the courtroom.