Morbi bridge collapse: Oreva group chief named as prime accused

Police on Friday filed a charge-sheet in the suspension bridge collapse incident that had occurred in the Morbi town of Gujarat in October last year, in which 135 people were killed.

The charge sheet, which runs into more than 1,200 pages, was filed in the Morbi sessions court by Deputy Superintendent of Police P S Zala, who is the investigating officer of the case.

In addition to the nine accused who are already behind bars, Jaysukh Patel of Oreva Group, which used to operate the bridge, has been named as the tenth accused in the charge sheet, sources said.

A magistrate's court has already issued an arrest warrant against Jaysukh Patel in connection with the October 30, 2022 bridge collapse incident. His anticipatory bail plea will come up for hearing on February 1.

Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river that had collapsed.