Asianet NewsableAsianet Newsable

Morbi bridge collapse: PM chairs high-level meet as police face tough questions

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that the authorities need to ensure that those affected get all possible assistance. All aspects relating to the tragedy were discussed in the meeting.

Morbi bridge collapse: PM chairs high-level meet as police face tough questions
Author
First Published Oct 31, 2022, 8:46 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Monday evening to review the situation in Morbi, where a suspension bridge collapsed, claiming the lives of over 130 people and injuring others. During the meeting at Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar, the Prime Minister was briefed on rescue and relief operations.

Also Read: Morbi suspension bridge collapse: 12 questions that need to be answered

According to sources, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that the authorities need to ensure that those affected get all possible assistance. All aspects relating to the tragedy were discussed in the meeting, which was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Bhai Patel, Minister of State-Home Harsh Sanghavi, Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Gujarat, along with other top officials, including those from the state Home Department and the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority.

The Prime Minister once again emphasised on ensuring that those affected get all possible assistance.

Police accused of going slow

Rajkot Range Inspector General of Police Ashok Yadav was grilled by the media persons when he was briefing them about the ongoing investigation into the Morbi bridge collapse case.

Briefing media persons, Yadav said: "Our intent has been to ensure strict punishment for the accused in the bridge collapse. The FIR has been lodged. Nine people have been arrested. An investigation is progressing. More names are expected to come to the fore."

"Of these nine people arrested, four are employees of Oreva group -- two managers and two ticket booking clerks. A thorough inquiry will be conducted; the guilty will not be spared," the officer said, adding that the remaining five accused include two contractors hired by the Oreva group and three security personnel working at the bridge. 

However, media persons sought to know why the owners of the Oreva Group, who reportedly had no prior experience of managing structures of the kind but were still given the contract for the same, were still not named in the FIR. Also missing from the FIR are the names of officials of the local municipal body who were involved in the process.

Also Read: Morbi bridge collapse: PM Modi gets emotional while talking about tragic incident at Gujarat event

Also read: Morbi bridge collapse: 5 similar tragedies that took place in last 10 years across the country

Follow Us:
Download App:
  • android
  • ios