Rajkot gaming zone fire toll 35; 2 held

Rajkot, May 26

The police have registered an FIR against six partners of a game zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot city on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested two persons after a fire there killed 35 persons (as per IANS), officials said on Sunday.

PM announces Rs 2L ex-gratia compensation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased. The injured persons would be given Rs 50,000, the Prime Minister’s Office said on X. The Gujarat Government has also announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.

Family loses five members in inferno

A fun weekend outing turned tragic for the Jadeja family, which lost five of its members in the massive fire. Of the five members of the family who are missing or presumed dead, three are children in the age group of 10-15 years. Meanwhile, the DNA samples of the bodies and victims’ relatives have been collected for the identification of the deceased, said officials on Sunday. PTI

The local police in November 2023 granted a booking licence to the gaming zone, which was renewed for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told reporters.

“The game zone had received permissions from the roads and buildings department. It had also submitted a proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC which was under process and not yet completed,” the official said.

Thirty-five persons, including children, were killed and three others injured in the massive fire that swept through the TRP game zone in the Nana Mava locality teeming with people who were enjoying a summer vacation outing on Saturday evening, officials earlier said.

As per the FIR, the accused persons erected a 50-metre-wide and 60-metre-long structure with the height of around two-three storey building using metal sheet fabrication to create a game zone.

They did not have proper fire fighting equipment and had not obtained the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local fire department, thereby endangering the lives of people despite knowing that a blaze in such a structure could cause deaths and injuries, said the FIR.

Yuvrajsinh Solanki, a partner in the Raceway Enterprise, which operated the TRP game zone, and the entertainment facility’s manager Nitin Jain have so far been arrested, Rajkot Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Parthrajsinh Gohil said. The six persons against whom the case was registered by the Rajkot taluka police in the wee hours of Sunday are Dhaval Corporation proprietor Dhaval Thakkar, Raceway Enterprise partners Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod, as per the

FIR. The Gujarat Government has also formed a five-member SIT headed by state Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi to investigate the incident. / Agencies