Industrialist Jaysukh Patel, the main accused in the 2022 Gujarat suspension bridge collapse that claimed 135 lives, received criticism after he was felicitated at an event organised by the Patidar community in Morbi district.

While the victims’ kin expressed anguish over the event, the organisers said that Patel, currently out on bail, was honoured in his capacity as the son of late OR Patel, a philanthropist who founded the Ajanta Group.

Patel was weighed in “modak” (sweet dumpling) on a scale at the function organised by Kadva Patidar Kanya Kelavani Mandal on the outskirts of Morbi town on Friday to mark the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of the Uma Sanskardham temple.

The modak will be packed in 60,000 boxes and distributed among Patidar families, the organisers said.

“It is a matter of sadness for us to see the main accused in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse being honoured like that,” said Narendra Parmar, a member of the association representing victims and their families.

A court recently relaxed Patel’s bail condition barring him from entering the Morbi district, making it possible for him to attend the event.

His firm Oreva Group was responsible for the operation and maintenance of a British-era suspension bridge on river Machchhu in Morbi town that collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 persons, including women and children, and injuring 56 others.

“I learnt about Patel’s felicitation through a news report and felt sad. He was barred from entering Morbi but secured the court’s permission for the event. The incident and losing a child is not something one forgets in his lifetime,” said Parmar, whose 10-year-old daughter was killed in the tragedy.

AK Patel, a member of the organisation that held the programme, said they honoured Jaysukh Patel to pay respects to his late father OR Patel, who founded the Ajanta Group, describing him as “the father of wall clocks”.

“We decided to felicitate Jaysukh Patel and his brothers at the event as a tribute to their father OR Patel’s service to society,” he said.

Former Congress MLA Lalit Kagathara said there was nothing wrong with Patel being honoured by his community, stressing that the industrialist’s family has made significant contributions to society through philanthropy.

“I have been saying that Jaysukh Patel is innocent. Morbi’s then collector and civic officials are responsible for the tragedy. Why an FIR was not registered against them? OR Patel was the ‘Bhishma Pitamah’ of the Patridar community and a philanthropist. There is nothing wrong with his son being honoured by the community," he said.

A total of ten persons, including Patel, two managers of his firm, two sub-contractors who had repaired the bridge, three security guards and two ticket booking clerks, were arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and for endangering human life after the accident.

The Supreme Court on March 22, 2024, ordered Patel’s release and directed the trial court to frame his bail conditions. Among the bail conditions, Patel was barred from entering Morbi till the pendency of the trial.

Patel had moved the apex court after the Gujarat High Court in December last year rejected his regular bail plea.

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