Defendant in Morbi bridge collapse honored, relatives of victims saddened

Industrialist Jaysukh Patel, the prime accused in the Gujarat suspension bridge collapse that killed 135 people in 2020, received criticism after he was felicitated at an event organized by the Patidar community in Morbi district.

While relatives of the victims expressed their pain over the incident, organizers said Patel, who is currently out on bail, was honored as the son of philanthropist OR Patel, who founded Ajanta Group.

Patel weighed in with modak (sweet dumpling) at the event organized by Kadva Patidar Kanya Kelavani Mandal to celebrate Pran Pratishtha of Uma Sanskardham temple on the outskirts of Morbi town on Friday.

Organizers said the modak will be packed in 60,000 boxes and distributed to Patidar families.

“It is saddening for us to see the main accused in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse being honored in this way,” said Narendra Parmar, a member of the association representing the victims and their families.

A court recently relaxed the bail condition that prevented Patel from entering the Morbi district, making it possible for him to attend the event.

His company, Oreva Group, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of a British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town that collapsed on October 30, 2020, killing 135 people, including women and children, and injuring 56 others.

Parmar said, “I learned from a news report that Patel was congratulated and I was saddened. He was banned from entering Morbi, but he received permission from the court for the event. The incident and losing his child is not something a person can forget throughout his life.” His 1-year-old daughter died in the tragedy.

AK Patel, one of the members of the organization organizing the program, stated that they honored Jaysukh Patel by paying tribute to his late father OR Patel, who founded the Ajanta Group, and described himself as the “father of wall clocks”.

“We decided to celebrate Jaysukh Patel and his siblings at this event as a tribute to their father OR Patel’s service to the society,” he said.

Former Congress MLA Lalit Kagathara said there was nothing wrong in Patel being honored by his community, emphasizing that the industrialist’s family had made significant contributions to society through philanthropy.

“I say Jaysukh Patel is innocent. The then collector and civic authorities of Morbi are responsible for the tragedy. Why was no FIR registered against them? OR Patel was the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of the Patridar community and was a philanthropist. There is nothing wrong in his son being honored by the society ” he said.

There are ten people in total, including two managers of the company and two of them Patel.

The subcontractors who repaired the bridge, three security guards and two ticket reservation clerks were arrested on charges of premeditated manslaughter not amounting to murder.

Human life is in danger after an accident.

The Supreme Court ordered the release of Patel on March 22, 2024 and directed the trial court to frame his bail conditions. Among the bail conditions, Patel was banned from entering Morbi until the hearing was over.

Patel had moved the court in December last year after the Gujarat High Court rejected his regular bail plea.