Gujarat bridge collapse: ‘Will of God,’ arrested manager tells court

The Gujarat bridge collapse tragedy, in which more than 135 people were killed, was “the will of God,” one of the accused told a court on Tuesday. “It was bhagwan ki ichcha (the will of God) that such an unfortunate event happened,” Deepak Parekh, a manager of the Ahmedabad-based Oreva Group that was responsible for the maintenance of the 150-year-old bridge at Morbi, told Chief Judicial Magistrate MJ Khan.

Parekh is one of the nine people who were arrested after the bridge crashed on Sunday. Parekh, another manager, and two sub-contractors who had repaired the bridge were sent to police custody till Saturday. Five other arrested men, including security guards and ticket booking clerks, are in judicial custody.

Oreva has come under the scanner after the bridge collapsed days after it was reopened for the public. Oreva Group’s managing director Jaysukh Patel threw open the bridge for the public on October 26, after the eight-month-long repair work was completed. Patel informed that Oreva spent ₹2 crore for the renovation work, roping in experts. And four days later, the bridge collapsed.

Oreva’s glaring lapses

Morbi Deputy Superintendent of Police PA Zala told the court that the cable of the bridge was “rusted” and had not been replaced by Oreva. Also, the bridge was reopened to the public on October 26 without government approval or quality testing.

Watch: Morbi tragedy: 4 sent to police custody owners of renovation firm missing

“As part of maintenance and repair, only the platform was changed. The bridge was on a cable and no oiling or greasing of the cable was done. From where the cable broke, the cable was rusted. Had the cable been repaired, the incident would not have happened,” the police officer said. Since the cables had not been replaced, they snapped as they could not take the weight of the new flooring; rhe weight of the bridge had increased due to the four-layered aluminium sheets used in the flooring.

Oreva was not qualified for the maintenance of public infrastructure, a prosecutor told the judge. “Despite that, these contractors were given repair work of the bridge in 2007 and then in 2022,” the prosecutor said. The bridge was opened to the public without determining how many people it could carry. There was no emergency rescue and evacuation plan and no life-saving equipment nor lifeguards.

Also read: Political slugfest over Morbi tragedy: Opposition charges, viral videos, conspiracy theories

There was no documentation of the repair work, nor was it inspected by experts. The company had time till December to complete the renovation, but they opened the bridge much earlier, anticipating a huge crowd in the festive season of Diwali and Gujarati New Year.

Lawyers’ associations won’t represent accused

Meanwhile, two bar associations in Gujarat have decided that they won’t represent the accused arrested in the case. both Morbi Bar Association and Rajkot Bar Association have passed resolutions that their lawyers won’t represent the nine accused of Oreva, senior advocate of Morbi Bar Association, AC Prajapati, told news agency ANI.

Oreva’s Managing Director Jaysukhbhai Patel had claimed that the renovated bridge will hold up for at least eight to ten years. He has not been seen since the tragedy on Sunday. He was last seen at the reopening of the bridge, along with his family. The Oreva company’s farmhouse in Ahmedabad is locked and abandoned. Curiously, however, the police FIR does not mention Oreva’s top bosses or the Morbi municipal officials, who gave the company the contract.

(With inputs from Agencies)