Gujarat police on Monday arrested nine persons in connection with the collapse of a cable suspension bridge in Morbi, in which 134 people lost their lives. An FIR has been registered on charges of culpable homicide against agencies given the task of maintenance and operation of the bridge.
Those arrested included four employees of the Oreva group which had bagged the contract to maintain and operate the British-era bridge. "Of these nine, two work as managers, while two work as ticket booking clerks (all four employed by Oreva group) at the bridge site. We will conduct a thorough inquiry and will not spare the guilty," said Range IG Ashok Kumar Yadav at a press conference.
The other five accused include two repairing contractors hired by the Oreva group and three persons working at the bridge as security personnel, said Yadav.
The case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), reported PTI.
The FIR, lodged by 'B' division police inspector Prakash Dekivadia, stated that the bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town was not in use for nearly eight months as the local administration had roped in a "private agency" for its maintenance.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat on a three-day visit, will visit the mishap site on Tuesday afternoon. While addressing a gathering at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia on the occasion of the 147th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel earlier in the day, Modi had said there would be no laxity in rescue and relief efforts.
"The state government has constituted a committee to investigate this incident. I assure the people of the country that there will be no laxity in rescue and relief operations," he said.
"I am in Ekta Nagar but my mind is with the victims of Morbi. Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain. On one hand, there is a pain-riddled heart and on the other hand, there is the path to duty," the prime minister further said.
Hundreds of people fell into the Machchhu river after the overcrowded cable suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday evening. The more than a century-old bridge had reopened just last week after extensive repairs and renovation.
Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), six platoons of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a team of the Air Force, two columns of the Army, and two teams of the Indian Navy apart from local rescue teams were involved in the operation that continued through the night.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, who had remained in Morbi during the night to oversee the rescue operation, said the state government has formed a committee to conduct a probe into the bridge collapse.
The British era bridge is a major tourist attraction in the region. Due to Diwali vacation and being a Sunday there was a huge crowd on the bridge when it collapse. A private operator had carried out the repair work of the bridge for nearly seven months before it was reopened for the public on the Gujarati New Year day on October 26.
