Morbi Bridge Collapse: Arrest warrant issued against Oreva MD Jaysukh Patel

Oreva group's Ajanta Manufacturing Company Ltd was repairing the ill-fated Morbi bridge which snapped killing 135 including 55 children in Gujarat's Morbi.

Ahmedabad:Two months after the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy, a police warrant was issued on Sunday against Jaysukh Patel, owner of the Oreva Group. The Gujarat police have also released a lookout notice to prevent the Oreva Group MD from escaping abroad.

Patel has also been named as an accused in the chargesheet. The charge sheet will be filed within a week. An arrest warrant was issued against him under Section 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Earlier, the Gujarat High Court had issued notice to the owner of Oreva group, Jaysukh Patel, in connection with the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat, demanding a reply.

Accepting the petition filed against the Overa group owners, the HC had asked Jaysukh Patel to submit a reply in due time. Despite repeated summons, Patel was evading questioning for the past one and a half months. Police have so far arrested nine people including two managers of Oreva company in this case.

On Oct. 30 evening, the suspension bridge over the Machchu river, which was repaired by the Oreva group collapsed claiming 135 lives. The Morbi Nagar Palika had squarely blamed Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva group) for the bridge collapse saying that no permission was accorded to open the bridge. The firm not only opened the bridge for the public sans approval but also without scientific testing of its sustainability and fitness, it said.

According to the agreement between Morbi Nagar Palika and the Oreva group, it was entirely for Ajanta to look after all the administration functions, including the appointment of staff, cleanliness, maintenance, ticket booking, collection and accounts of expenses.