Morbi bridge tragedy: Police to name Ajanta MD Jaysukh Patel prime accused
The Magisterial court issued an arrest warrant against Patel on January 13. Two of the company’s top managers are already in jail for the same accident in which 135 were killed on October 31 last year.
3 min read
The police are finalising a charge sheet naming him as the main accused in the case. Police sources said the charge sheet will be filed before January 28. (Express File) With Jaysukh Patel, the managing director of Ajanta Manufacturing Private Limited (AMPL) of OREVA Group, on the run even as the Morbi police is all set to name him as the prime accused in the Jhulto Pul suspension bridge collapse case chargesheet which is expected to be filed before the 90-day period ends on January 28.
The Magisterial court issued an arrest warrant against Patel on January 13. Two of the company’s top managers are already in jail for the same accident in which 135 were killed on October 31 last year and the operations at the company’s two manufacturing facilities have been taken over by supervisors.
“We haven’t seen Sheth (Patel) for nearly three months. Two managers who were in-charge of the daily affairs here have been in jail for more than two months now. Therefore, the factory is run by those at the supervisory level these days,” said a functionary of OREVA Group.
The Morbi facility of AMPL manufactures clocks, alarm clocks, telephones, calculators, etc, while the one at Samakhiali village in the neighbouring Kutch district manufactures e-bikes and electrical bulbs.
Meanwhile, the police are on a hunt for Patel who is at large since the Jhulto Pul tragedy. The bridge belonged to the Morbi municipality but the civic body handed it over to OREVA Group in March 2022 for its operations and maintenance for 15 years. The bridge collapsed only four days after Patel threw it open to visitors on October 26.
The police filed an FIR under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed). Nine persons, including AMPL managers Deepak Parekh and Dineshbhai Dave, two ticket-booking clerks, three security guards posted at the bridge and two private contractors who had carried out repair and maintenance of the bridge between March and October last year, have been arrested so far. Parekh and Dave were in charge of the Morbi and Samakhiali manufacturing plants respectively.
In order to prevent Patel from fleeing the country, a lookout circular has been issued after he failed to respond to police summons and remained on the run, despite a Morbi court’s arrest warrant against him. The police are finalising a charge sheet naming him as the main accused in the case. Police sources said the charge sheet will be filed before January 28.
“He was actively involved at every stage of discussion culminating in the agreement between the Morbi municipality and OREVA Group, handing (over) operations and maintenance of the bridge to OREVA Group. Therefore, he was very much involved in the affairs of the bridge and is the prime accused in the case,” a source privy to the investigation said.
Last week, Patel had moved the Morbi district and sessions court seeking protection against arrest. However, the court Saturday adjourned his plea till February 1 after prosecution sought time to file its response to the anticipatory bail application.
You May Like
