Rajkot Game Zone Fire: CCTV Clip Shows Welding Triggered Blaze; Newly Weds Among Victims; 'Were You Asleep,' HC Asks Guj Govt

Owner partner of the Rajkot-based TRP game zone and its manager were arrested on Sunday on the charge of culpable homicide.

The Gujarat High Court on Sunday, which on Sunday took suo motu cognisance of the fire tragedy terming it a prima facie "man-made disaster", tore into the state government on Monday saying if it "fell asleep".

Gujarat Game Zone Fire | Top Points

• CCTV Visuals Suggest How Fire Started: CCTV footage doing the rounds on social media claiming to be of the moments when the fire started at the gaming zone in Gujarat suggested that the blaze started due to welding work. CCTV footage showed some of the sparks during welding work falling on a pile of plastic that lay nearby and it catching fire shortly after, which the workers could be seen trying to contain but failed to.

Another video showed the fire spreading to highly inflammable materials kept around and several people trying to take those inflammable materials away from the blaze.

• Gaming Zone Had No NOC, Owner Held: An owner partner of the Rajkot-based TRP game zone and its manager were arrested on the charge of culpable homicide after the blaze killed 27 persons including children, while it emerged the facility was operated without fire NOC. The game zone had fire safety equipment but action taken to control the fire was not sufficient, leading to the tragedy on Saturday, a senior police officer said on Sunday, a day after the tragedy.

The six persons booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder are: Dhaval Corporation proprietor Dhaval Thakkar, Raceway Enterprise partners Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod, as per the FIR. Four different teams of the crime branch have been formed to nab four absconding accused, an official said.

• Gujarat HC Slams State Govt: The Gujarat High Court, which on Sunday took suo motu cognisance of the fire tragedy, slammed the state government for inaction over the gaming centre being built on unauthorised premises. "Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state government," the court reportedly said on Monday after it was told the gaming centre in Rajkot had been built on unauthorised premises and that a hearing regarding fire safety had been on for four years.

ALSO READ | Rajkot Fire Tragedy: 27 Dead; Gujarat HC To Hear Matter On 'Man-made Disaster' On Monday

• Fire NOC Was Pending: The local police in November 2023 granted a booking license to the gaming zone, which was renewed for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told reporters, adding that 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," he said. The game zone had fire safety equipment but action taken to control the blaze was not sufficient, leading to the tragedy on Saturday, he said.

• What The FIR Says: As per the FIR, the accused persons erected a 50-metre wide and 60-metre long structure with a height of around two to three storeys using metal sheet fabrication to create a game zone. The investigation in the case has been handed over to the crime branch and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Rajkot police headed by Joint Additional Commissioner of Police Vidhi Chaudhary. Notably, the Gujarat government has also formed a five-member SIT headed by state Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi.

• Bodies Charred Beyond Recognition: Rajkot Collector Prabhav Joshi said DNA samples of all the victims were sent to Gandhinagar FSL in the wee hours of Sunday by air ambulance. "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.

• Newly Married Couple Among Victims: Among the victims of the tragic fire were a newly married couple, Vivek (26) and Khushali Dusara (24), and their sister-in-law Tisha, who went missing at the game zone. Their family in Gir Somnath district spent a sleepless night as they couldn't contact the couple over the phone, as per a news agency PTI report. On Sunday, they left for Rajkot to ascertain if the couple was among the victims of the fire. Vivek and Khushali had tied the knot just two months back, they said.