Guwahati: A Gujarat court issued a warrant for the arrest of Jaysukh Patel of the Overa Group in connection to the collapse of the Morbi bridge, which claimed 134 lives.
The British-era bridge over the Machchu River is reportedly being renovated, repaired, and managed by Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group).
The arrest warrant was issued under section 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Government prosecutor Sanjay Vora was quoted by ANI saying, “The court issued an arrest warrant against Jaysukh Patel of Overa Group, which had a contract for the renovation of the Morbi bridge. He has not been arrested for 70 days. No lookout notice issued yet.”
It should be noted that Patel had previously requested an anticipatory bail in the matter in a Morbi court session on January 20, but the hearing was postponed until February 1 due to the absence of the public prosecutor.
Moreover, nine people have so far been arrested in the case, including four Oreva Group workers.
Two managers and an equal number of ticket booking clerks who were in charge of the British-era bridge are among the Oreva Group employees who have been arrested.
As many as 135 people—including women and children—were murdered, and over 100 more were injured when a cable suspension bridge in Morbi town collapsed in November of last year, sending people into the Machchhu River.
The Gujarat High Court took suo motu notice of the accident on November 7 and sent notices to relevant parties, including the state Home department, requesting a report within a week.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in November said that the bridge collapse incident was an ‘enomous tragedy’, as it asked the Gujarat High Court, which was already holding hearings in the matter.