Morbi bridge tragedy: Nine arrested so far, say Guj Police

A total of nine persons have been arrested so far in connection with cable bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi on Sunday evening, in which 141 persons have lost their lives, police said on Monday.

Morbi bridge tragedy: Nine arrested so far, say Guj Police
Source: IANS

Morbi (Gujarat), Oct 31 (IANS) A total of nine persons have been arrested so far in connection with cable bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi on Sunday evening, in which 141 persons have lost their lives, police said on Monday.

Inspector General of Police, Rajkot Range, Ashok Yadav informed media persons that two managers of Ajanta Manufacturing Company, 2 booking clerks, a father-son duo of the repair workers and three security guards have been arrested so far.

The managers were identified as Dipak Parekh, Dinesh Dave, and others are Mansukh Topiya, Mahadevbhai Solanki, Prakash Parmar and his son Devang, Alpesh Gohil, Dilip Gohil, and Mukesh Chauhan.

Police will produce them before the court and seek their remand, the IG said.

On Sunday night, a criminal complaint was registered with the Morbi B-Division policeA station against the repair, renovation, maintenance and management agency, its managers, and others. Police had, however, not mentioned the company name in the complaint.

Ajanta Manufacturing Company has signed a lease for renovation, maintenance, and management of the cable bridge for 35 years.

Congress spokesman Pawan Khera has alleged that Ajanta has little experience in construction and renovation of such specialised bridges, and on the contrary, the company is into quartz watches, and CFL and LED bulbs manufacturing.

Khera has demanded that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel should take moral responsibility for the tragic incident and resign.