Morbi Bridge collapse: Prosecution blames ‘unqualified’ contractors

The prosecution, citing a forensic investigation, said that although the bridge’s flooring was altered, its cable was left in place and was unable to support the weight of the new flooring. The magistrate’s court ordered the police to hold four of the arrested suspects, including two OREVA Group supervisors and two subcontractors who repaired the bridge, until November 5.

As the police did not request their custody, Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan remanded five additional arrested men—including security guards and ticket sales clerks—in judicial custody, according to prosecutor H S Panchal. Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was used by the police to arrest nine people on October 31.

Watch: CCTV footage of moment before Morbi bridge collapse

Dipak Parekh, Dinesh Dave, Prakash Parmar and Devang Parmar, employed by the OREVA Group as repair contractors, were the four people who were held in police custody. Panchal said the court, citing the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) findings, that forensic specialists thought the new flooring was to blame for the main cable of the bridge snapping.

“Though the FSL report was presented in a sealed cover, it was mentioned during the remand plea that cables of the bridge were not replaced during the renovation and only flooring was changed….. weight of the bridge increased due to the four-layered aluminium sheets for the flooring and the cable snapped due to that weight,” Panchal told reporters.

Also Read: Morbi Bridge Collapse: Oppn seeks accountability amid ‘sabotage’ accusation

Additionally, the court was informed that none of the mending contractors was “qualified” to complete the task.

“Despite that, these contractors were given repair work of the bridge in 2007 and then in 2022. So the accused’s custody was needed to find out what was the reason for choosing them and at whose instance they were chosen,” the prosecutor said.

(With PTI inputs)