Bhubanesswar: The state government on Thursday disengaged Panda Infra Limited, which is in the dock over the collapse of Bomikhal overbirdge, from all construction projects in every part of the state.

The step is seen as an initiative to ensure chief minister Naveen Patnaik's clean image ahead of elections.

There were allegations that the government was hesitant to take action against the company as the money of an influential MLA and works secretary was involved in the Bomikhal project.

On Thursday, the police also arrested another director of the company, Prasant Padhi, indicating that more heads could roll in the case. Managing director of the company Pratap Panda has already been put behind the bar. So far two people - one pedestrian and another a construction worker - have died in the bridge collapse.

Works minister Prafulla Mallick said: "We have received report of the three-member expert committee on the bridge collapse. The committee, in its report, has blamed the contractor for not taking adequate safety measures as well as not engaging skilled worker in the construction."

Works secretary Nalinikant Pradhan, who is in the midst of controversy for allegedly giving tacit support to the company, said: "We have decided to disengage the company from the ongoing Lingaraj Road overbridge work. The state government will take up the work itself and safety measures will be examined by a third party before throwing it to open to public." The department has planned to complete the bridge within next two months.

The department also made it clear that it would take steps to disengage the company from the under-construction Sambalpur overbridge and the Jatni overbridge.

These projects would be assigned to a new contractor. The minister also confirmed the development. "We are scrutinising all legal angles before taking steps in this regard. We will issue a fresh tender to appoint new contractors for the Sambalpur and Jatni overbridges," said the minister.

The department has also initiated a vigilance probe to check the quality of the work at Jatni overbridge.

There were allegations that work on the overbridge was done with improper planning and with materials of inferior quality.

The piling of the overbridge should have been 60-feet deep, while the company had allegedly used 20-feet iron rods. The remaining 40 feet has allegedly been filled with false concrete.

However, the All-Odisha Contractors' Association on Thursday demanded the arrest of the officials and engineers in connection with the overbridge tragedy. "The government should not put the entire blame on contractors. Steps should be taken to arrest engineers at various levels starting from executive engineer to the chief engineer for the lapses," said association president Pravat Das.

The association also demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

In another development, the BJP continued its relay hunger strike near the Bomikhal overbridge, demanding the arrest of the works secretary Pradhan and works minister Mallick for allowing a black-listed company to go ahead with the construction.