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, officials said on Sunday. 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. 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.

 

Thirty five persons, including tweleve 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 a 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 gamezone, 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased in the Rajkot game zone fire incident, his office said on Sunday. The injured persons would be given Rs 50,000, the Prime Minister’s Office said on X.