According to reports, the gaming zone was packed due to weekend and had only one emergency exit. According to a ANI report, the Gujarat High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the incident and the issue will be heard on May 27.
According to a ANI report, the Gujarat High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the fire incident at TRP Game Zone in Rajkot. The issue will be heard on May 27.
The five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government to investigate the Rajkot fire incident has been asked to submit a report within 72 hours.
The death toll in the Rajkot gaming room fire has risen to 32, ANI reported. The fire broke out at a gaming zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, at around 4.30 pm on May 25, resulting in the loss of lives, including children.
Members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) held a meeting with the local administration in Gujarat’s Rajkot city in the early morning hours of May 26.
The bodies were charred beyond recognition. The DNA samples of the bodies and the victim’s relatives have been collected for identification of the deceased, the SIT said.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the incident site at Nana-Mava road today morning and the hospital where the injured were admitted.
The owner and manager of the game zone have been arrested, officials said.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi also reached Rajkot and attended the SIT meeting.
“The Prime Minister has sought information about the incident from the Chief Minister and has expressed grief. The PM has directed that strong action be taken against the culprits,” he said.
Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi, who is heading heads the SIT, said 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.
“We will go through all the aspects of the incident and investigate them thoroughly… We will work with commitment and complete honesty and integrity to provide justice to the children who have lost their lives,” Trivedi said.
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. “PM @narendramodi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the fire mishap in Rajkot, Gujarat. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” the PMO said in a post on X (formally Twitter).
The CM has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured.
Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vinayak Patel said 27 bodies were recovered from the incident site and taken to the city civil hospital.
“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,” he said.
The exact cause of the massive blaze is not yet known. Following the incident, all gaming zones in Vadodara to will remain shut “till further orders come”, Chief Fire Officer Parth Brahmbhatt told ANI.
Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told media 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.
The gaming zone, called TRP, lacked the required licenses to operate and did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC) for fire clearance from the Rajkot Municipal Corporation. According to an NDTV report, the gaming zone, which was packed due to the weekend discount, had only one emergency exit. This caused panic after the fire broke out, it added.
According to a ANI report, the Gujarat High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the fire incident at TRP Game Zone in Rajkot. The issue will be heard on May 27. The High Court may issue a directive on the state’s game zone.
(With inputs from agencies)
