The bridge collapse in Gujarat shook up the entire country, with the death toll crossing 140 people on Monday, as dozens still remain missing. Rescue operations were conducted for over 24 hours to pull out the people who were stuck in the river.
After a high-level probe was ordered into the collapse of the Morbi suspension bridge on Sunday evening, several people connected to the renovation and redevelopment of the bridge were arrested on Monday, including people from the firm Oreva.
As per the authorities, nine people have been arrested in connection with the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat. Among those who were arrested are managers of Oreva, ticket collectors, bridge repair contractors, and three security guards, who were responsible for controlling the crowds.
For the unversed, Oreva was the company that was given the contract for the renovation of the bridge. The company has been accused of violating several safety norms during the renovation of the bridge, which was reopened by the company just four days before the tragedy.
.
While Oreva came under fire for not overseeing the renovation of the Morbi suspension bridge in Gujarat, the Bhartiya Janta Party-led state government refused to take any responsibility for the mishap, which claimed a total of 141 lives.
Former Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel told reporters, “Renovation and opening of the bridge were done by Morbi admin. Gujarat govt didn't have any role in it, direct or indirect. The old bridge was small and made for private use, but was opened to the public for tourist movement."
Meanwhile, a high-level meeting was conducted to probe the Gujarat bridge collapse mishap on Monday, which was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, state home minister Harsh Sanghavi and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The matter of how and why the bridge collapsed is being probed by the state police, who have arrested nine people till now. The police told reporters on Monday, “Police is collecting scientific and technical pieces of evidence, stringent action will be taken against those found guilty be it the company or individual."
READ | Gujarat bridge collapse: Why is Oreva under scanner? How a wall clock maker got contract to repair 143-year-old bridge?
