Lakshman

A clock company was given a 140 year old bridge to repair. Four days after it reopened, the bridge fell into the river with 500 people on it. 135 died, more than 50 of them children. The man accused was later weighed in sweets at a ceremony in the same town. His name is Jaysukh Patel, managing director of the Oreva group, the company behind Ajanta clocks. In March 2022 the Morbi municipality gave Oreva a 15 year contract to repair and run the bridge. On 26 October 2022 the bridge reopened. The town's chief officer later said the company opened it without telling them. On 30 October 2022, around 6.40 pm, it was Sunday evening and the bridge was packed with families. It collapsed. The youngest to die was 18 months old. A forensic report said the cables were rusted, the anchors broken and the bolts loose. Ten people were arrested, including Jaysukh Patel. He was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In December 2023 the Gujarat High Court rejected his bail. In March 2024 the Supreme Court granted it, with a condition that he stay out of Morbi. In November 2024 a court relaxed that condition. Days later a community group in Morbi honoured him at a temple event and weighed him in sweets. Narendra Parmar, whose 10 year old daughter died on the bridge, said, "It is a matter of sadness for us to see the main accused being honoured like that." Four years later, the trial is still going on.