Rajkot gaming zone fire: Fire officer, town planning officer detained
Two officials have been detained by police following the fire at the TRP Gaming Zone in Rajkot last week, which claimed 27 lives. The Town Planning Officer, MD Sagathia, and Fire Officer BJ Theba from the Rajkot Municipal Corporation were taken into custody on Wednesday. They are being questioned about how the gaming zone was operating with only an entertainment license and without necessary clearances such as a no-objection certificate, an approved layout plan, building-use certificate, and proper fire clearances.
Owners and manager of gaming zone arrested
Five individuals, including the owners of the TRP Gaming Zone and its manager, have already been arrested in connection with the Rajkot fire tragedy. The owners, Yuvrajsinh Solanki, Rahul Rathod, Dhaval Thakkar, and Kiritsinh Jadeja, along with the manager, Nitin Jain, are currently in police custody. A fifth owner, Prakash Hiran, was confirmed to have died in the fire following a DNA test on Tuesday. The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Special Investigation Team to probe fire incident
The chief of the special investigation team (SIT) set up to probe the fire incident, Subhash Trivedi, stated that they have been given permission to question even senior IAS and IPS officials if necessary. "We have been instructed to probe the roles of officers associated with Rajkot Municipal Corporation, fire department, police and power utility firm," said Trivedi. He added that the SIT is also investigating seven government officials, including two police officers, who have already been suspended.
Gujarat High Court criticizes Rajkot Municipal Corporation
On Monday, the Gujarat High Court pulled up the Rajkot Municipal Corporation for its negligence. The bench questioned, "This has been going on for two and a half years. Are we to assume you turned a blind eye? What do you and your followers do... Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep?" The same day, the Gujarat government transferred four top officers, including Rajkot police commissioner Raju Bhargava and municipal commissioner Anand Patel.
