Court commits four suspects in the Morbi Bridge disaster to judicial custody

• Image Credit: Internet

• Nov 6, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

 Digital Desk: Two management of the Oreva group and two representatives
of the Surendranagar-based contractors, who were sublet the work by the Oreva
company, were put into judicial prison by a magistrate's court in Morbi,
Gujarat, on Saturday.

They were detained in connection with the tragic "Jhulto Pul"
incident on the Machchhu River on October 30, which may have resulted in 135
fatalities. On November 1, the accused was given a five-day remand, which ended
on Saturday.

The prosecution had
asked for a further five days of detention and claimed that the Rajkot
Collector's office had not yet provided the police with specific documents
pertaining to a 2008 agreement between the Oreva-Ajanta group and the Morbi
municipality. The bridge was governed by Rajkot in that year.

The arrangement called
for turning over control of the suspension bridge to a private company.

About seven months
ago, the bridge's operational use was discontinued. A private company, Oreva
Group, was awarded the contract in March of this year to care for, run, and
secure the bridge for the ensuing 15 years.

The company had also subcontracted the 230 m (754 ft) span
over the Machchhu River erected during British occupation in the 19th century
to Dhangadhra-based contractor Devprakash Solution.

 On October 26, the day of the Gujarati new year, Jaysukh
Patel, the managing director of Oreva, inaugurated the bridge along with
members of his family. The bridge had been renovated and was now open to the
public.

 Patel also gave a press conference during which he claimed
that the bridge was open to travellers. It collapsed four days later, killing
135 people.