Rajkot game zone fire: Blaze might have started due to welding work, says police.

Twenty-seven persons, including four children, were killed in a massive fire that swept through TRP game zone in Rajkot. A day after 27 persons, including four children, were killed in a massive fire that swept through a gaming arcade in Gujarat’s Rajkot, the state police on Sunday said that the blaze might have started due to welding work, reported ANI. “Prima facie, the investigation conducted by the FSL officials and the information given to us by the fire officer after inspecting the site, it seems that some fabrication work was going on there and in that fabrication work, the fire might have started due to welding work,” Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava said. “There was a lot of inflammable material there, which quickly caught fire and spread throughout the gaming zone…” Bhargava also said that while 27 bodies have been recovered from the site, some remains have also been found. “…27 bodies have been recovered and some remains have also been found, so we think the death toll will be around 28,” the police commissioner told ANI. Bhargava also said that TRP Game Zone had submitted a proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC, but it was under process. “The game zone had received permissions from the roads and buildings department. It had also submitted proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC which was under process and not yet completed,” the official said, according to PTI. The Gujarat high court, which has taken suo motu cognizance of the fire, has termed the incident as “man-made disaster”. The court has observed that such gaming zones and recreational facilities have come up without the necessary approvals from competent authorities. It will hear the case tomorrow. The Rajkot Police registered a first information report (FIR) against six partners of the game zone on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Two of them have been arrested, while the others remain absconding. The six individuals 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. Solanki, a partner in the Raceway Enterprise, which operated the TRP game zone has been arrested. The entertainment facility’s manager Nitin Jain have also been held. The six accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by an act that endangers life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to a person by doing an act that endangers their life or personal safety) and 114 (someone present when offense is committed), as per the FIR.