Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel chairs high level meeting after Ahmedabad accident

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 21 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel held a high-level meeting in Gandhinagar regarding a vehicle accident that took place on ISKCON Bridge in Ahmedabad late night on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister said that the charge sheet will be presented within a week and the case will be tried in the fast track court by appointing a special public prosecutor.

The Chief Minister extended his condolences to the families of the nine deceased, including two policemen and announced ex gratia of Rs. 4 lakhs for the families of the deceased and Rs 50000 to the injured.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also gave immediate instructions to state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel to reach Sola Civil Hospital in order to help the families of the victims of the accident and the injured who are being treated there. Following this, the Health Minister reached the hospital and assisted in all the arrangements including their treatment.

State Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi also visited the accident site and held a meeting with senior officials of Ahmedabad City Police to get detailed information about the incident.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was briefed by the Minister of State for Home Affairs and senior officials about the sequence of events and the steps taken by the police after the incident.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel gave orders for immediate legal action, detention and complete impartial investigation against the culprits involved in this tragedy in the high-level meeting which was held at Chief Minister’s office Thursday evening.

Accordingly, one Joint Commissioner, three DCPs and five Police Inspectors are investigating the incident under the direct supervision of Ahmedabad City Police Commissioner.

In a prompt action Ahmedabad police arrested car driver Tathya Patel who crushed nine people to death on ISKCON Bridge in the city on Thursday.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel gave instructions to the Chief Secretary to strengthen coordination between the police, the road building and urban development department and local authorities regarding CCTV camera network and light-poles on highways of cities to monitor the speed of vehicles on highways across the state and those passing through cities.

In this meeting, it was also stated that the special drive which has been started against overspeeding, rash driving and those youths engaged in performing stunts in the cities will be made more strict and comprehensive.

The Chief Minister stated that the state government is fully committed to take action including strict punitive measures against the culprits involved in this road accident so that incidents like this are not repeated in the future.

In this high-level meeting, Chief Secretary Rajkumar, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister  K Kailasanathan, Additional Chief Secretary Home Department Mukesh Puri, Director General of Police Vikas Sahai, Advisor to Chief Minister SS Rathore, Additional Chief Secretary Transport and Ports Manojkumar Das, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner and Police Commissioner, Road Safety Authority president Lalit Padaliya and officers were present.