Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva boss among 10 named in charge sheet

Police said that the chargesheet runs into over 1000 pages which have testimonies of several victims' families and survivors, besides SIT reports

The Morbi police on Friday filed a charge sheet against Jaysukh Patel, the owner of clock-making firm Oreva Group, and nine others in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse case. The charge sheet names Patel as the main accused behind the incident that killed 135 people including over 50 children on October 30.

"We have filed the charge sheet against ten people including Jaysukh Patel who is the main accused in the case. The accused have been charged for not following due care and diligence (in managing the suspension bridge)," Morbi district superintendent of police Rahul Tripathi told DH.

Police said that the charge sheet runs into 1252 pages which have testimonies of several victims' family and survivors, beside SIT reports. Police have cited 357 witnesses in the case. Another senior police officer said that "Jaysukh Patel is the main accused who never appeared before the police despite repeated summons and preferred to approach high court which hearing a public interest litigation on same case."

Patel, a wanted accused, has been charge sheeted for criminal negligence, among others along with nine other accused who are already in jail under judicial custody. Police said that Patel, against whom an arrest warrant was issued recently, has never appeared before the police for questioning despite repeated summons.

In a statement, the local police said, "charge sheet has been filed against nine arrested accused and one wanted accused Jaysukh Patel, managing director of Oreva Group, against whom evidence were collected during investigation but he was not found at his possible addresses following which an arrest warrant was issued."

The other nine accused who have been charged are-Prakash Parmar 61, and Devang Parmar, 31, sub-contractors who did the repair work, Dipak Parekh and Dinesh Dave, managers of Oreva Group, Mansukh Topia, Mahadev Solanki, Alpesh Gohil, Dilip Gohil and Mukesh Chauhan who worked at the bridge as ticket clerks and security guards.

The FIR was registered under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 114 (abetment), among others of Indian Penal Code. The charges include "gross negligence and carelessness" of the responsible agency, Oreva, which opened the bridge for the purpose of tourism despite "knowing that it could endanger common people."

Earlier this week, Jaysukh Patel made a statement in the high court through his lawyer offering compensation to 135 victims who were killed in the bridge collapse. Oreva Group, part of famous clock-making firm Ajanta Manufacturing Limited, was responsible for operation and maintenance of the British-era bridge at Machhu river. The high court agreed to hear his plea but said that such an offer would not "absolve him from any liability."

Patel has also filed an anticipatory bail plea in Morbi district court which is scheduled to hear it next week.