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Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva MD Jaysukh Patel sent to police remand till February 8
Three months after the Morbi bridge collapse incident, Patel and another prime accused in the case surrendered before the sessions court on January 30
The chief judicial magistrate court in Morbi on Wednesday sent Oreva Group managing director Jaysukh Patel to police remand till February 8 following his surrender on January 31 after he was named as a prime accused in the bridge collapse tragedy of October 30 that killed 135 people.
Patel, whose firm was awarded the contract to maintain and repair the British-era foot bridge in Morbi, was on January 27 named as an accused and absconder in a charge sheet filed by the Gujarat Police in connection with the incident.
“Special public prosecutor SK Vora, while seeking Patel’s remand for 14 days, said the police wanted to question Patel as to how he managed to throw the bridge open on October 26 without a fitness certificate,” said a police official.
Vora told the court that, in June 2018, an agreement was signed with Patel to operate, maintain, manage and collect rent for the suspension bridge, and the said 9 years’ period expired on June 15, 2017. However, Patel continued to manage and operate the bridge till March 2022 when the new agreement was signed, which the investigating team would like to know how he managed to do that without any firm contract in place.
The chief judicial magistrate granted the remand till 3 pm on February 8.
Built in 1879, the 233-metre-long suspension bridge on the Machchu river collapsed on October 30 evening, just four days after it was reopened after renovation.
The police have arrested nine people and the government constituted a special investigation team, but questions were raised on whether too many people were allowed to climb on to the “jhulta pul” (swinging bridge), if the authorities ensured adequate safety certification and whether the renovation work that was completed four days before the tragedy was requisite.
Three months after the Morbi bridge collapse incident, Patel and another prime accused in the case surrendered before the court on January 30.
Relatives and friends of the victims gathered outside the court and shouted slogans against Patel for the ill-fated tragedy.
Also Read:Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva MD Jaysukh Patel surrenders before court
The Morbi-based home-appliances, clock and e-bike maker Oreva Group was given the contract by the Morbi municipality in March 2022 to repair, operate, maintain the bridge for 15 years and to collect revenue from its ticket sales.
The police had time and again called Patel, reaching out to his offices and residences in Ahmedabad, Morbi and Bhuj, for questioning but he failed to show up. As a result, the police approached a court in Morbi which released an arrest warrant against him on January 13.
Nine others, arrested earlier in the case, are also named in the charge sheet.
All 10 accused, including Patel, have been charged under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act), and 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code.
Patel applied for anticipatory bail in the Morbi sessions court on January 20, but the hearing was postponed to February 1 due to the absence of the public prosecutor.
A government-appointed Special Investigation Team had cited, among other things, several lapses on part of the Oreva Group in the renovation work they undertook.
The forensic science laboratory report revealed rusty cables, broken anchor pins, and loose bolts among the lapses that were not addressed while renovating the suspension bridge.
Oreva Group did not hire any expert agency to assess the load-bearing capacity of the bridge before throwing it open to the public, it said.
The Gujarat high court on January 25, while hearing a suo motu matter in the case, observed that there may have been collusion between the Morbi civic body and the Oreva Group.
The state also told the court that there was no restriction on the sale of tickets despite it being a suspension bridge, and 3,165 tickets were sold on October 30 alone, the day it collapsed.
