Rajkot gaming zone fire updates: The Gujarat high court on Sunday took suo motu cognizance of the fire incident at TRP Game Zone in Rajkot that killed at least 27 people on Saturday evening. The issue will be heard in the Gujarat high court on Monday, May 27. The high court may issue a directive on the state’s game zone, news agency ANI reported.
Four children under the age of 12 were among the 27 people killed in the massive fire that swept through a game zone teeming with people enjoying a summer vacation outing on Saturday evening.
Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now!
The five-member Special Investigation Team formed by the Gujarat government, to conduct a probe into the incident and submit a report within 72 hours, reached Rajkot late Saturday night and held a meeting with the local administration.
Additional director general of police Subhash Trivedi, who heads the SIT, told reporters on Saturday night before the meeting that the incident was unfortunate and sad. He said the inquiry will begin immediately to find out those responsible for it and ensure no such incident is repeated in the future.
Additional commissioner of police (ACP) Vinayak Patel said 27 bodies were recovered from the incident site and taken to the city civil hospital.
Three persons were injured in the incident and their health condition was stable, he said.
“The bodies are charred beyond recognition, and we have completed the process of collecting the DNA samples of the bodies and the relatives who have claimed them so that the identity of the deceased can be established. The death toll is not likely to rise any further,” he said.
The exact cause of the massive fire is not yet known.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed grief over the incident. PM Modi spoke to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday to enquire about the rescue and relief efforts. The CM has announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and ₹50,000 to each injured.
After the fire broke out, Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told media persons that the cause of the blaze would be investigated and a message had been issued to all the gaming zones in the city to close operations. In the wake of the fire tragedy, the state director general of police has issued instructions to the commissioners of police and superintendents of police to inspect all the game zones in Gujarat and close those running without fire safety permission. The DGP has directed the police to carry out this procedure in coordination with fire officers of the municipalities and municipalities.
