Morbi bridge collapse: The Additional Public Prosecutor in the Morbi bridge collapse case, on Wednesday, made a shocking revelation, saying one of the accused managers of the Oreva firm termed "Act of God" as justification for the tragic incident.
Advocate HS Panchal said one of the two managers of the firm, who have been arrested, made this statement in a court in Gujarat. According to him, another significant revelation was that the bridge's cable wires were "rusting away" and were not in the best shape to be opened to the public.
"In the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, the Investigating Officer (IO) said that the cable of the bridge was rusting away. The Investigating Officer says that only flooring of the bridge was done and the cables were not changed, oiling-greasing also wasn't done," Advocate Panchal added, as per ANI. Citing an FSL officer, he further said prima facie it seems that it was an old cable.
"Out of the 4 people who were sent to Police custody, two are managers at Oreva Co and two others did fabrication work for the bridge. The five others who were sent to judicial custody are security personnel and ticket vendors," Panchal said regarding details of the accused sent to police custody today.
According to Panchal, the Investigating Officer claimed in its report that the contract to the firm was awarded directly rather than through a tender process.
On Wednesday, the Morbi Court in Gujarat sentenced four of the nine people, who had been detained in connection with the collapse of the century-old suspension bridge on October 30, to police custody and placed the other five into judicial detention until November 5.
It is pertinent to mention here that at least 135 people, including women and children, were killed and over 100 are receiving treatment for their injuries sustained after a cable suspension bridge in Morbi town collapsed on Sunday
(With ANI inputs)
