2 key accused in Morbi bridge collapse case move High Court for bail

Morbi (Gujarat): Following the recent grant of bail to five of the total of 10 accused in the Morbi bridge collapse case, two key accused have now approached the Gujarat High Court seeking bail. The tragic incident, which occurred last year, claimed the lives of 135 people.

On June 17, Oreva Group Managing Director Jaysukh Patel (Bhalodia) filed a bail plea, which is yet to be registered by the court.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Dave, a manager in the same group, submitted his bail application on June 14. The court has registered Dave's application but is yet to announce a date for its listing.

According to the chargesheet, which outlines the specific roles attributed to the accused, the two Oreva Group managers, Deepak Parekh and Dineshbhai Dave, despite lacking technical knowledge about suspension cable bridge work, awarded the repair and renovation contract to Devprakash Solution.

It was alleged that the contract was prepared by Parekh and Dave under the direction of Jaysukh Patel, the accused MD of Oreva Group.

Earlier in May, the High Court had granted bail to three accused security guards -- Alpeshbhai Gohil, Dilipbhai Gohil, and Mukeshbhai Chauhan.

In June, the court also granted bail to two accused ticket clerks, Madevbhai Solanki and Mansukhbhai Topiya.

Notably, the public prosecutor had requested that the court's bail order specify that it only applied to these three individuals.

This request was made to avoid setting a precedent for other accused parties who might seek bail based on the argument of parity.

The bail pleas of the two key accused in the Morbi bridge collapse case will now be evaluated by the Gujarat High Court, considering the gravity of the charges and the evidence presented.

The victims of the tragedy have expressed their opposition to the bail applications, highlighting the alleged involvement of the accused in black-marketing tickets through clerks.