GUJARAT: Absconding Oreva group promoter, Jaysukh Patel was sent to judicial custody in connection to Morbi Bridge collapse on Tuesday after he surrendered before a sessions court in Gandhinagar today.
The surrender comes four days after the Guj police filed a chargesheet naming Jaysukh as the main accused and one ahead prior to his bail plea hearing. Patel was the sole accused, out of 10 named so far, who remained free. He was named as an accused on January 25 and an arrest warrant was issued against him by the same court where Patel surrendered today.
According to the investigating team, Patel’s name was included in the chargesheet after the probe revealed his signatures on the documents pertaining to the repair of the British ear bridge in Morbi. In the 1200-page chargesheet, it was learnt that 22 out of 49 cables of the suspension bridge that collapsed in October last year were rusted.
Jaysukh has been accused of not getting a stability certificate from a technical institute before reopening the bridge to the public. Also, the British-era bridge, which underwent renovation, was reopened in six months instead of 12- the chargesheet said.
As per the chargesheet, the lapses included no restriction on the number of persons accessing the bridge and no curb on the sale of tickets, which led to unrestricted movement on the bridge, as well as carrying out repairs without consulting experts.
Apart from him, 9 others were also named in the chargesheet including Oreva executives. All nine are already in police custody.
The British-era suspension bridge collapsed on October 30, resulting in the killing of at least 135 people.