Rajkot game zone fire: One of the most recent major fire-related accidents in Gujarat was a blaze at a chemical factory in Surat in November, which killed seven people and injured another dozen.
Two days after a video gaming zone in Rajkot caught fire, killing 28 people, including nine children, and leaving their bodies burned beyond recognition, the Gujarat High Court chastised the city’s municipal authorities for failing to certify at least two such constructions.
The court was incensed when told two gaming zones had been functioning – for over 24 months each – without the appropriate permits, including fire safety certifications, and stated it could no longer “trust” the state government, which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
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This came after the Rajkot Municipal Body stated in court that “our approval was not taken…”
“This has been going on for two and a half years [referring to the Rajkot gambling zone]. Are we to assume that you turned a blind eye? “What do you and your followers do?” The court rumbled.
The Rajkot gaming zone was granted a licence by local cops in November of last year, which was renewed till December 31, 2024, according to Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava.
The Rajkot municipal body’s meeting took a turn for the worst when images emerged showing officials at the gambling zone. “Who were the officers? “Did they go there to play?” the court inquired.
The court also criticised the state government.
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“Did you go blind? Have you fallen asleep? When informed that fire safety certification hearings had gone unresolved for four years, the court became enraged.
Advocate Manisha Luv Kumar Shah, representing the state government, also confirmed that two other gaming zones in Ahmedabad did not have authorization to operate, and stated that a special committee had been constituted to investigate all such issues and submit 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.
CCTV footage, which NDTV has not independently verified, shows a fire starting during welding work; sparks fell on plastic, catching fire and unable to be stopped by panicked personnel.
According to authorities, the fire may also have been caused by an electrical short circuit.
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.
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.
Officials Suspended
Six officials, including two police officers and three civic body officials, were suspended this morning for “gross negligence”. The six partners who own the gaming zone have been charged with culpable homicide, and two persons have been arrested, according to police.
Yuvrajsinh Solanki, a partner, and Nitin Jain, the facility’s manager, were among those arrested.
The state has appointed a five-member committee, led by Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi, to investigate the tragedy. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has given compensation of ₹4 lakh apiece for the relatives of those murdered and ₹50,000 each for the injured.
Prime Minister Modi said he was “extremely distressed” by the tragedy.
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