Ahmedabad:

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday again rapped the state government over the Rajkot game zone fire that killed 27 persons in May, wondering why a demolition order against the illegal structure was not executed for nearly a year.

The censure came in response to an affidavit submitted to the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi that has been hearing a suo motu PIL (public interest litigation) it had taken up on May 26, a day after the tragedy.

The Gujarat government on Thursday also submitted its “fact-finding inquiry” report in a sealed cover to the HC on the TRP game zone blaze in Rajkot.

The bench last month had expressed displeasure over the investigation into the fire and ordered a “fact-finding inquiry” to uncover how the illegal game zone had come up and what roles officials played in it.

This had prompted the Gujarat government to appoint a “fact-finding committee” comprising IAS officers Manisha Chandra (Commissioner of Rural Development), P Swaroop (Commissioner of Land Reforms) and Rajkumar Beniwal (Vice Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Gujarat Maritime Board).

While going through the state’s affidavit on Thursday, the chief justice said though the officials of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) were aware that the TRP game zone was illegal, no action was taken against it despite a demolition order being served to the management in June 2023.

“A demolition order was issued by the RMC. One year has passed since then (till the fire incident). Why was it not executed? Where is the answer? That demolition order proves that officials knew that the structure was illegal,” the CJ said.

When Advocate General Kamal Trivedi pointed out that the present Municipal Commissioner has already suspended RMC’s Town Planning Officer (TPO) and an Assistant TPO for negligence, Chief Justice Agarwal said it was not enough.

“Taking action against a few people will not help you. The working (style) has to be revisited. There are loopholes and lapses which need to be taken care of. You cannot put this state in this situation. It is very serious that such incidents are happening,” noted the chief justice.

The bench also expressed displeasure over the state government’s submission that the then Rajkot municipal commissioner was unaware of the illegal structure because TPO and his office were dealing with the matter and the demolition notice was sent by TPO, not the civic chief.

“You can’t say that this was not brought to my notice. It’s not an excuse. Even I can’t say that. I have to take responsibility for everything, good or bad. This should be the approach of the head of an institution,” the CJ said.

Since a report from the state government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) is still pending, the court has asked Mr Trivedi to submit it as well as an Action Taken Report on July 25, when the matter will be heard next.

Twenty-seven persons, including four children, were killed in the massive fire that swept through the game zone in the Nana-Mava locality of Rajkot city on May 25.

A probe revealed that the game zone was running without any no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department of the RMC.

Rajkot:

A court in Rajkot in Gujarat on Friday remanded in police custody till June 12 four officials who were arrested in connection with the May 25 game zone fire that killed 27 persons.

Rajkot town planning officer (TPO) M D Sagathia, assistant TPOs Mukesh Makwana and Gautam Joshi, and former station officer of Kalavad Road fire station Rohit Vigora, who were held on Thursday, were produced in the court of Judicial First Class Magistrate B P Thakar.

While seeking their remand, public prosecutor Tushar Gokani informed the court that Section 36 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with effect caused partly by act and partly by omission, has been invoked against the accused and subsequently added in the main FIR.

Gokani told the court Sagathia knew since 2023 that the game zone was illegal and that it must be demolished as per law but took no action.

The custody of Sagathia along with that of his two junior officers was required to elicit more information about the reasons which led to the tragedy, Gokani told court.

Gokani said a welding spark had caused the fire at the game zone which killed 27 persons. Upon learning about the blaze, Vigora and his team of fire fighters had reached the spot.

He drew the court’s attention to the fact that a small fire incident was recorded at the same game zone in September 2023 due to welding work and at that time too, it was Vigora, as the fire station officer, who had reached the spot and doused the fire.

Though Vigora knew that the game zone had been running without a no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department, he did not take any action and, thereby, indulged in illegal omission, the public prosecutor said.

Nine persons, including four owners and a manager of the ill-fated TRP Game Zone, have been arrested, while nine officials have been suspended for alleged “gross negligence in allowing the game zone to operate without necessary approvals.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Prakash Hiran, one of the owners of TRP Gamezone in Gujarat’s Rajkot, where 27 people, including children, died in a massive fire, was also killed in the blaze. The CCTV footage captured from the time of the fire showed Hiran at the scene, confirming his presence at the spot during the incident, his car was found at the fire site.

Hiran’s brother, Jitendra, filed a missing complaint claiming his brother was inside the gaming zone when the fire ripped through the complex. The forensics department took DNA samples of his mother and today confirmed that Prakash was also killed in the blaze. Several bodies were burnt beyond recognition and the cops used DNA tests to identify the bodies.

Prakash, a partner in Raceway Enterprises, had 60 per cent ownership in the gaming zone and was named as an accused by the Gujarat Police. Six people were named as accused in the First Information Report (FIR) by the police – Dhaval Thakkar, proprietor of Dhaval Enterprises, partners of Raceway Enterprises Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakash Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki, and Rahul Rathod – had partnered to run the game zone where the fire occurred.

Thakkar, a key accused in the case, was on the run after the incident and was arrested from Rajasthan. Police received information that he had been hiding at his relative’s house in Rajasthan.

Yuvrajsinh Solanki, Nitin Jain and Rahul Rathod have been sent to two weeks of police custody. 

They have been booked under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by an act that endangers the life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to a person by doing an act that endangers their life or personal safety) and 114 (someone present when the offence is committed).

As many as 27 persons, including children, were killed in a massive fire at the recreation centre on May 25. Since the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, the state government took the help of a forensic science lab to identify the victims through DNA profiling.

The gaming zone did not apply for a fire safety certificate till this year, the Gujarat High Court was told. 

“This incident is an eye-opener. The system’s eyes have opened after the death of innocent children. Such a game zone cannot be run at the cost of small children being killed,” the court said, directing the ruling BJP to file, as an affidavit, the report to be submitted to a special investigative team.

The Gujarat High Court came down hard on the state government and said, “Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state,” the court raged when told fire safety certification hearings have been unresolved for four years.

New Delhi:

The main accused in the case of a gaming zone fine in Gujarat’s Rajkot, which killed 27, has been arrested, the police said on Monday.

The key accused Dhawal Thakkar was arrested from Abu Road in Rajasthan. The police received information that he had been hiding at his relative’s house in Rajasthan.

A local court earlier today sent three men arrested in connection with the game zone fire to police custody for 14 days.

Special public prosecutor Tushar Gokani said that when asked about certain documents, the accused claimed they got burnt in the fire.

A first information report (FIR) was filed against six partners of the TRP game zone. Two partners in Raceway Enterprise, which operated the TRP game zone, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod, and the manager of the recreation centre, Nitin Jain, were arrested earlier today.

As per the FIR, the accused erected a 50-metre-wide and 60-metre-long structure that was as high as a three-storey building using metal sheet fabrication to create a game zone.

They did not have proper firefighting equipment and had not obtained no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local fire department.

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said the government-appointed special investigation team (SIT) had seized all files related to the game zone for further investigation.

“The SIT has seized all relevant files from 2021 till 2024 in my presence from various departments such as the road and building department, police and Rajkot Municipal Corporation. We will not spare those found guilty of any wrongdoing,” Mr Sanghavi told reporters in Gandhinagar.

New Delhi:

Rajkot police chief Raju Bhargava has been transferred days after a horrific fire at a gaming zone in the city killed 28 people, including nine children. He has not been given a new post at this time.

He will be replaced by Brajesh Kumar Jha, the Special Commissioner of Police from Ahmedabad.

Apart from Mr Bhargava, Rajkot City’s Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration, Traffic, and Crime) Vidhi Choudhary, has also been moved out, and has also not yet received a new post. In her place comes Mahendra Bagria, ex-Deputy Inspector General for the Kutchh-Bhuj (West) zone.

Also, Sudhirkumar Desai, who was Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rajkot City, Zone 2) has been dropped for Jagdish Bangwara, formerly the Superintendent of Vadodara’s Central Prison.

Like Mr Bhargava and Ms Choudhary, Mr Desai has also not been given a new post, at this time.

READ | Nine Children Among 28 Dead In Fire At Gujarat Gaming Zone

The changes came hours after the Gujarat High Court ripped into the Rajkot civic body and the state government for not ensuring the game zone (the one that burned, a second in the city, and three in Ahmedabad) received mandatory certifications, including those for fire safety and building codes.

The court was furious when told that the two gaming zones in Rajkot had been operating – for over 24 months each – without the required permits, and said it could no longer “trust” the state government, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

“This has been going on for two-and-a-half years (referring to the Rajkot gaming zone). Are we to assume you turned a blind eye? What do you and your followers do?” the court thundered.

The Rajkot gaming zone, it has emerged, was granted a license by local cops in November last year, which was renewed to December 31, 2024, Mr Bhargava had admitted on Sunday.

READ | “Don’t Trust Gujarat Government”: High Court On Rajkot Fire Lapses

The court also criticised the state government.

“Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state,” the court raged when told fire safety certification hearings have been unresolved for four years.

Told about three establishments in Ahmedabad that do not follow fire safety regulations, and that the rules say a gaming zone is not allowed without a NOC from the city’s fire department, an irate High Court shot back, “Then this rule was not followed in Rajkot…”

READ | “Can’t Run Game Zone At Cost Of Children Being Killed”: Court

The court also lamented the loss of children, telling the Gujarat government, “This incident is an eye-opener. System’s eyes have opened after the death of innocent children.” The court directed the BJP to file, as an affidavit, the report to be submitted, by Wednesday, by a special investigative team.

Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

On Saturday a massive blaze was reported from the Rajkot gaming zone.

READ | Welding Sparks May Have Caused Fire At Gujarat Gaming Zone

CCTV footage – which NDTV has not verified independently – showed a fire starting during welding work; sparks fell on plastic that caught fire and could not be contained by panic-stricken workers.

The fire may have also been the result of an electrical short circuit, sources said.

However, it started, as the fire spread a temporary structure collapsed near the entrance, trapping a number of people. The facility had only one emergency exit.

There was some fire safety equipment but action taken was insufficient, cops have said.

READ | Bodies Burnt Beyond Recognition In Rajkot Fire, DNA Samples Taken

The blaze burnt so fiercely that many of the bodies recovered could not be identified, forcing authorities to rely on DNA testing to identify the dead.

Three Arrested, Six Suspended

This morning six officials, including two police officers and three civic body officials – were suspended for “gross negligence”. A police case – with charges of culpable homicide – has been filed against the six partners who owned the gaming zone; two of the three partners have been arrested so far.

Overall, three arrests have been made; the third is the manager of the game zone.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced aid of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. Mr Modi has said he is “extremely distressed” by the tragedy.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Gandhinagar:

The Gujarat High Court on Monday lamented the heart-breaking death of 28 people, including nine children, after a fire ripped through a gaming zone in Rajkot that lacked the required permits.

The gaming zone – backed by six partners, of whom only two have been arrested so far, was set up in 2021, but did not apply for a fire safety certificate till this year, the court was told.

“This incident is an eye-opener. System’s eyes have opened after the death of innocent children. Such a game zone cannot be run at the cost of small children being killed,” the court said, directing the ruling BJP to file, as an affidavit, the report to be submitted a special investigative team.

The team – set up immediately after the blaze – had been given 72 hours to file a report (the provisional deadline, therefore, is Wednesday), but an interim document expected today.

“How can a game zone run without permission under the nose of the (city) corporation… of the local police station?” it asked, “When will families stop losing loved ones due to man-made tragedies? This needs to be answered…” The court directed all concerned civic bodies and fire departments to take necessary steps to ensure rules are followed for all structures, temporary or otherwise.

“Innocent people of the state should not die in fires like this,” the court also said, adding, “Such incidents like this are happening due to violation of fire safety rules.”

For the Rajkot incident, the court has demanded the municipal body chief and the concerned civic officers inform it of steps taken since 2021 to ensure city buildings are up to code; city officials and the state received a sharp reprimand earlier today after admitting that gaming zones in Rajkot and Ahmedabad did not have certain permits, including a critical NOC from the Fire Department.

“We can file contempt of court (charges)… but it is not necessary at this stage,” a furious court warned the heads of the Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot municipal body chiefs.

The Chief Fire Officer of each city has also been hauled up; s/he has been told to submit an affidavit that details fire safety exits and equipment available at gaming zones in their jurisdiction.

They have also been told to submit reports for future planning. “The concerned corporation officials, including the commissioner, have to be fixed,” the court stressed.

READ | “Now Don’t Trust Gujarat Government”: Court On Rajkot Fire Lapses

Earlier today the Gujarat High Court said it could no longer “trust” the state government, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP. This was after the Rajkot municipal body told the court its approval – for building and running the game zone – had not been taken.

“This has been going on for two-and-a-half years (referring to the Rajkot gaming zone). Are we to assume you turned a blind eye? What do you and your followers do?” the court thundered.

The hearing then went from bad to worse for the Rajkot municipal body after photographs showed officials at the gaming zone. “Who were these officers? Did they go there to play?” the court asked.

The court also ripped into the state government.

READ | Welding Sparks May Have Caused Fire At Gujarat Gaming Zone

“Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state,” the court raged when told fire safety certification hearings have been unresolved for four years.

Newly-Wed Couple Killed

Among those who died in the Rajkot game zone fire were a newly-wed couple – Akshay Dholaria and his wife Khyati, as well as his sister-in-law, Harita, to unwind after the wedding festivities.

READ | Newly-Wed Couple, Bride’s Sister Killed In Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

Akshay, 24, who lived with his parents in Canada, came to Rajkot to marry Khyati, 20. They had a court marriage last Saturday – a week before the tragedy.

READ | “Jumped From 1st Floor”: Survivor Recounts Escape From Fire

Those killed included five of the Jadeja family. including children between 10 and 15 years old.

Three Arrested, Six Suspended

Apart from the arrests six officials, including two cops and three civic body officials – have been suspended for “gross negligence”. Also, a police case – with charges of culpable homicide – has been filed against the six partners who owned the gaming zone.

READ | Bodies Burnt Beyond Recognition In Rajkot Fire, DNA Samples Taken

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced aid of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. Mr Modi has said he is “extremely distressed” by the tragedy.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Gandhinagar:

Two days after a video gaming zone in Rajkot burst into flames and killed 28 people, including nine children, and left their bodies burnt beyond recognition, the city’s municipal body came under fire from the Gujarat High Court for failing to certify at least two such structures in the city.

The court was furious when told two gaming zones had been operating – for over 24 months each – without the required permits, including fire safety certificates, and said it could no longer “trust” the state government, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

This was after the Rajkot municipal body said, in court, that “our approval was not taken…”

“This has been going on for two-and-a-half years (referring to the Rajkot gaming zone). Are we to assume you turned a blind eye? What do you and your followers do?” the court thundered.

The Rajkot gaming zone, it has emerged, was granted a license by local cops in November last year, which was renewed to December 31, 2024, Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava said.

The hearing then went from bad to worse for the Rajkot municipal body after photographs showed officials at the gaming zone. “Who were these officers? Did they go there to play?” the court asked.

The court also ripped into the state government.

“Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state,” the court raged when told fire safety certification hearings have been unresolved for four years.

Advocate Manisha Luv Kumar Shah, appearing for the state government, also acknowledged that two other gaming zones – in Ahmedabad – did not have permission to operate, and said a special team had been formed to investigate all such issues and file a report within 72 hours.

This includes mini-gaming zones inside malls, the court was told, for a total of 34 in the city, of which three do not have a no-objection certificate – a mandatory requirement – from the fire department.

The state said a gaming zone cannot open sans such a certificate, to which the High Court – appearing increasingly irritated – shot back, “Then this rule was not followed in Rajkot.”

In an attempt to reassure the court of action being taken, the state said three owners had been arrested and the process of taking the rest into custody is “ongoing”.

Meanwhile, the court also pointed to “many incidents” in the past and said, “…we have given many decisions and instructions in the past four years. Even after that six incidents took place in the state.”

Among the major fire-related incidents in Gujarat since 2023 were a blaze at a chemical factory in Surat in November that killed seven people and injured a dozen more.

A few days earlier a fire at a city multiplex destroyed property and injured two employees.

In July there was a fire at an Ahmedabad hospital that forced the evacuation of 125 patients. There was also a massive blaze in firecracker shops in an industrial area of the city in May

In March a fire at a hospital in Surat killed an infant.

“People are dying due to (state) machinery (not working)…” the irate court observed.

Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

On Saturday a massive blaze was reported from the Rajkot gaming zone.

READ | Welding Sparks May Have Caused Fire At Gujarat Gaming Zone

CCTV footage – which NDTV has not verified independently – showed a fire starting during welding work; sparks fell on plastic that caught fire and could not be contained by panic-stricken workers.

The fire may have also been the result of an electrical short circuit, sources said.

READ | Nine Children Among 28 Dead In Fire At Gujarat Gaming Zone

However, it started, as the fire spread a temporary structure collapsed near the entrance, trapping a number of people. The facility had only one emergency exit.

There was some fire safety equipment but action taken was insufficient, cops have said.

READ | Bodies Burnt Beyond Recognition In Rajkot Fire, DNA Samples Taken

The blaze burnt so fiercely that many of the bodies recovered could not be identified, forcing authorities to rely on DNA testing to identify the dead.

Newly-Wed Couple Killed

Among those who died in the Rajkot game zone fire were a newly-wed couple – Akshay Dholaria and his wife Khyati, as well as his sister-in-law, Harita, to unwind after the wedding festivities.

READ | Newly-Wed Couple, Bride’s Sister Killed In Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

Akshay, 24, who lived with his parents in Canada, came to Rajkot to marry Khyati, 20. They had a court marriage last Saturday – a week before the tragedy.

READ | “Jumped From 1st Floor”: Survivor Recounts Escape From Fire

Those killed included five of the Jadeja family. including children between 10 and 15 years old.

Officials Suspended

This morning six officials, including two police officers and three civic body officials – were suspended for “gross negligence”. A police case – with charges of culpable homicide – has been filed against the six partners who owned the gaming zone, and two people have been arrested, the cops said.

READ | FIR Against 6 Partners Of Rajkot Game Zone After Fire, 2 Arrested

One of the arrested is Yuvrajsinh Solanki, one of the partners, and the facility’s manager, Nitin Jain.

The state has formed a five-member team – to be led by Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi – to investigate the incident, and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those killed and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.

Prime Minister Modi said he was “extremely distressed” by the tragedy.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Ahmedabad:

A special bench of the Gujarat High Court on Sunday took suo motu cognizance of the fire incident at a game zone in Rajkot which left 27 persons dead and said it was prima facie a “man-made disaster”.

Such gaming zones and recreational facilities have come up without the necessary approvals from competent authorities, the bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai observed.

The bench directed advocates of the Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot municipal corporations to appear before it on Monday with instructions as to under what provisions of law the authorities led these units to be set up or continue to operate under their jurisdiction.

Four children under the age of 12 were among the 27 persons killed and three others injured in the massive fire that swept through the game zone in Rajkot teeming with people enjoying a summer vacation outing on Saturday evening, as per the officials.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the incident site at Nana-Mava road on Sunday morning and a hospital where the injured persons were admitted.

Read | Rajkot Gaming Zone Had Just One Exit, Was Running Without Fire License

“We are shocked to read newspaper reports which indicate that the gaming zone at Rajkot appears to have taken advantage of the loopholes in the Gujarat Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (GDCR). These entertainment zones, as newspapers suggest, have come up without the necessary approvals from the competent authorities,” the court observed.

The High Court also wanted to know from the state government and the municipal corporations “whether such licenses, including the licenses to its use and compliance of fire safety regulations” were given to these respective (entertainment) zones that are in territorial jurisdiction of these corporations.

These entertainment zones, as newspapers suggest, have come up without the necessary approvals from the competent authorities, the court noted.

Quoting newspaper reports, the high court said temporary structures were created at the TRP game zone in Rajkot in order to overcome the hurdles caused by taking necessary permissions, no-objection certificates, including the fire NOC and construction permission.

Read | “Jumped From 1st Floor”: Survivor Recounts Escape From Gujarat Gaming Zone

Not just Rajkot, such game zones have come up in Ahmedabad city as well and they “pose a significant threat to public safety, specially the innocent children,” it said.

“Apart from having constructed such gaming zones/ recreational activities, they have been put to use apparently, according to our information through the newspaper reports, without permission,” the court said.

“Prima facie, a man-made disaster has occurred where innocent lives of children have been lost” and families have grieved their loss, it said.

A stock of highly inflammable materials such as petrol, fibres, and fibre glass sheets were stored at the Rajkot game zone where the fire occurred, the court noted.

Read | Bodies Burnt Beyond Recognition In Rajkot Fire, DNA Samples Collected

The court listed the suo motu petition for further hearing on Monday, with a direction to the panel advocates for the respective corporations to appear before it with instructions as to “under what provisions of law these corporations led these gaming zones/recreational facilities to be set up or continue and be put to use.” The bench also allowed a civil application in a PIL on fire safety being heard by the court that was moved by the party-in-person, Amit Panchal, for an urgent hearing.

Mr Panchal in his note claimed the devastating fire shows there has been non-compliance with provisions of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013, the rules and regulations framed under it, as well as directions issued by the Supreme Court and the Gujarat High Court.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)