Even as a local court in Morbi has rejected the bail pleas of the accused in the 30 October hanging bridge collapse that killed 135 people, several religious and social organisations in Gujarat have declared their support for the company owner who surrendered last week after absconding for three months.
Jaysukh Patel, Managing Director of the Oreva company which had the contract for renovation of the ill-fated hanging bridge, is currently in police custody after his surrender on the eve of his name appearing in the chargesheet filed in the Morbi court last week.
Among the organizations which have come out in support of the Oreva MD include the Umiyadham, the top religious sect of the Kadva Patels who are well connected with the political regime in the state.
Apart from Umiyadham, Self-Finance Schools Association, Morbi Ceramic Association, Morbi Truck Transporters Association and many others have issued open letters praising Jaysukh Patel’s social work in providing education to girls and employment to women of the area.
Though the letters are not like Godhra BJP MLA’s justification for premature release of the convicted rapists in the infamous gang rape case of 2002, these social and religious bodies have argued that Jaysukh Patel “performs his social responsibility and national duties”.
It is not proper to blame a person for erring in one work if he has done so many good things for the community, argued the identical letters issued by various organisations.
These letters have also expressed their sympathy for the families of victims of the bridge collapse, but only along with their defence of the Oreva MD who absconded for three months.
It is not immediately known how much impact of their support to Jaysukh Patel would have on the charges framed against him for the death of 135 people in the hanging bridge collapse.