The Shershah bridge had collapsed on September 1, 2007, six months after its inauguration by then president Pervez Musharraf. — File photo

KARACHI: The police on Saturday arrested Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Chaudhry Altaf, and two other senior officials after Additional District and Session Judge, West, Gulshan Ara Chandio rejected the interim Challan submitted by the investigation officer into the Shershah bridge collapse case, and ordered the arrest of the officials.

However, former chairman NHA, Major General (Rtd) Farrukh Javed, and the project director of ECIL Company, which passed the architecture of the bridge, Mohammad Yousaf Barakzai, managed to flee from the court despite police presence.

In the interim Challan, the investigation officer had submitted that no conclusive evidence had been found against the accused, and that the government of Pakistan had conceded no loss in the wake of the bridge collapse.

The investigation officer pleaded that no Challan could be submitted against the accused in the given circumstances.

The court, however, rejecting the interim Challan, ordered the police to arrest the officials.

Following the orders, the police took Chairman NHA, Chaudhry Altaf, former member motorway, Syed Najmul Hassan, and Tauseef Ahmed, into custody, while Major General (Rtd) Farrukh Javed, and Yousaf Barakzai managed to escape.

The Shershah bridge had collapsed on September 1, 2007, six months after its inauguration by then president Pervez Musharraf.

Six people were killed, while several were injured in the incident.