Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva MD Jaysukh Patel surrenders

Morbi, Jan 31: Jaysukh Patel, Oreva Group Managing Director and an accused in the tragic Morbi Bridge collapse surrendered before a court in Gujarat on Tuesday.

He surrendered before the court of chief judicial magistrate which had issued an arrest warrant against him.

Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi that collapsed on October 30 last year, days after its repairs.

A 1,200 pages chargesheet filed by Deputy Superintendent of Police P S Zala named Patel as the tenth accused. He had also moved an anticipatory bail plea fearing arrest.

The Morbi bridge collapse took place on 2 August 2021, claiming more than 135 lives. The tragic incident has brought the issue of infrastructure safety to the forefront.

The Police had filed the FIR under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the Indian Penal Code against the "agencies responsible for maintenance and management" of the bridge "along with others whose names may emerge during the course of the investigation".

The FIR includes ten people, including AMPL managers Deepak Parekh and Dineshbhai Dave, two ticket-booking clerks, three security guards posted at the bridge and two private contractors who had carried out repair and maintenance of the bridge between March and October last year, were arrested subsequently.

Later, the police added offences under IPC Sections 336 and 337 (hurt and injury due to negligence) to the FIR following a court nod.