Morbi bridge collapse toll rises to 136; cops arrest 9 people, say 'callousness' led to tragedy

Police have registered an FIR on charges of culpable homicide against agencies given the task of maintenance and operation of the bridge in Morbi city

Police arrested nine people on Monday over the suspension bridge collapse on Machchhu river in Morbi town, Gujarat, as the death toll reached 136 and it came to light that a clock-making firm had been given the contract to repair and manage the structure.

Rescue personnel belonging to the SDRF, NDRF, Navy and Army scoured the river for missing persons. Victims who drowned included over 50 children and 35 women.

The British-era bridge had snapped on Sunday and plunged scores of boisterous Diwali vacationers into the river just four days after its reopening.
While the Bhupendra Patel government appealed not to politicise the incident, the opposition Congress demanded the CM’s resignation for the tragedy. The Aam Aadmi Party held candle marches in solidarity with the victims’ families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-day Gujarat visit, is likely to visit Morbi on Tuesday.

Read | Morbi bridge collapse: India's worst bridge disasters

Local police arrested nine persons, including two officials from Oreva, a well-known firm involved in making wall clocks, e-bikes and electronic gadgets, that had been given the contract for repair and maintenance of the bridge for a period of 15 years.
The FIR registered last night didn’t name anyone but stated that the agency and persons responsible for repairs were booked under IPC sections 304 and 308 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 114 (abetment).

It stated that the agency, in “gross negligence and carelessness”, opened the bridge for the purpose of tourism despite “knowing that it could endanger common people”.
The company had to repair the bridge before opening it for the public.

On October 26, after six months of repair, Oreva Group’s owner Jaysukh Patel and his family members threw open the bridge and assured its stability for the next 15 years in a presser, in remarks that have come back to haunt him. In the press conference, he claimed that Rs 2 crore had been spent for the repair work and that aluminium honeycomb sheets had replaced wooden floors.

The Oreva group’s owner also claimed that “all technical aspects of the hanging bridge were kept in mind and a specialist company from Dhrangadhra had been roped in”.
Patel is said to have now gone underground. Sandipsinh Zala, chief officer of Morbi municipality, told reporters that they had not received any renovation details or fitness certificate from Oreva group.

However, questions are being asked on why district officials ignored the opening of the bridge if no such certificates had been obtained. Besides, it has also come to light the contractor was charging Rs 15 per person to walk on the bridge.

Among those arrested are two ticket booking clerks, two managers of Oreva company, two other contractors and three security guards.