Tbilisi city hall official resigns after arrest of deputy over electrocution incident that killed minor
Giga Gigashvili, the head of the Tbilisi city hall environmental protection service, on Wednesday cited “moral responsibility” for his resignation. Photo: Tbilisi city hall press office
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Giga Gigashvili, the head of the Tbilisi city hall environmental protection service, on Wednesday announced his resignation following the arrest of his deputy, along with eight others, on charges of professional neglect that claimed the life of one minor and injured two others in an electrocution incident in the city’s Vake Park last week.
Citing “moral responsibility”, the official who has been chairing the service since 2017 said he would cooperate with the investigation of the incident.
Mayor Kakha Kaladze observed a minute of silence during Wednesday’s city hall meeting in memory of the 13-year-old girl who died after being electrocuted in the water of the park’s newly renovated fountain by an exposed wire.
Kaladze vowed he was “ready to take responsibility [and resign] if even the slightest fault of mine is revealed'' in the case, with the investigation ongoing.
He also instructed his body to re-inspect all renovation and construction work in the municipality that has involved Mshenexpert company, which investigators have said drafted a “fake conclusion” for the handover of the renovation work in the park to the city hall.
Everything must be done now to prevent such tragedies”, Kaladze said.
Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze said that he was “ready to take responsibility [and resign] if even the slightest fault of mine is revealed'. Photo: Tbilisi city hall press office.
In response to calls by a part of the domestic opposition for his resignation, and requests to attend the city hall meeting on Wednesday to “ask questions to the mayor” over the matter, Kaladze said “certain political groups” had been “trying to use the tragedy for their narrow political interests”.
Since the day of the tragedy, the public has been hearing absolutely staggering statements. Unfortunately, there are some political forces that are trying to use the tragedy to benefit their own goals. I can not say more on this question. The public will give a proper response to their actions, I believe”, Kaladze said.
The mayor added it was “painful” to see a city hall employee being arrested in the case, but said “no question marks must be left” over the case.
In his remarks, Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said on Wednesday a “concrete violation” had led to the incident while no “systemic issues” had been revealed by the investigation. He called the opposition demands for Kaladze’s resignation “pure speculation”.
The interior ministry on Tuesday announced nine individuals had been arrested following initial investigative work over the incident. These include a Tbilisi city hall official, the head of the contractor company that worked on the renovation work of the fountain, employees and representatives of a subcontractor firm, and two welders. Charges filed against them range from violation of safety regulations, professional neglect, incitement to forgery, forgery of official documents and use of forged documentation.
The incident took place last Thursday, when three minors were electrocuted in the newly renovated fountain in the popular park after one of them attempted to retrieve a ball that had fallen into the water.
A 13-year-old girl was taken out of the water before being pronounced dead from injuries sustained in the incident, with a 13-year-old boy currently undergoing hospital treatment after being stabilised from his critical condition. The third child remains under care with minor injuries.
The Georgian law enforcement on Tuesday arrested nine individuals, including the deputy head of Tbilisi city hall’s environmental protection service, following its investigation into the deadly electrocution incident in the city’s central Vake Park last week that claimed the life of one minor and injured two others.
An employee in the ecological service of Tbilisi’s Vake Park recreational area has been receiving nationwide praise since Thursday for rescuing two minors from the park’s fountain after three of them got electrocuted in the water.
“All necessary” expertise, investigative and procedural actions will be conducted on the tragedy and the offenders will be punished with the“ full severity” of the law, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Georgian deputy minister of internal affairs said on Thursday at the briefing regarding an electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s Vake Park recreational area.
By the decision of the Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili, all events planned within the framework of the inaugural Wine Days festival in Georgia have been postponed over the death of a 13-year-old girl who died from injuries sustained in an electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s Vake Park recreational area earlier today.
UNICEF Georgia on Monday called on national and local authorities in Georgia to work with professionals, civil and private sector representatives to make cities fit and safe for children, in response to the deadly electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s Vake Park earlier this month that killed one minor and left two others injured.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday posthumously awarded Marita Meparishvili, the 13-year-old who died from injuries sustained in an electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s Vake Park recreational area in October, with the state Medal for Civic Dedication.
Two individuals, including the former Head of Tbilisi City Hall’s Environmental Protection Service, were on Monday denied bail by Tbilisi City Court in the case that led to the death of a minor in an electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s Vake Park in October.
Eight of the nine individuals arrested following the electrocution incident in Tbilisi’s central Vake Park in October 2022 that killed a 13-year-old and injured two others were on Monday sentenced to prison on several charges.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has launched an investigation into the death of a 15-year-old following an incident in Tskneti, a holiday settlement on the outskirts of capital Tbilisi, on Tuesday.