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Family that lost 4 members in Rajkot fire recalls ordeal

May 30, 2024 01:25 PM IST

The blaze broke out at the TRP Game Zone, which was functioning without a No Objection Certificate from the fire department, during some welding work

Around 4:30 pm on May 25, Pradipsinh Chauhan, who was away for work in Gujarat’s Anand, received a frantic call from his sister-in-law about the fire at Rajkot’s TRP Game Zone, some 250 kilometers away, where she had gone earlier that day with his 15-year-old son and other relatives. Chauhan tried to calm his sister-in-law down. He told her there would be some equipment around to put out the fire before losing hope when she told him that they had been left to fend for themselves.

Many visitors were trapped as there was only one entry and exit point. (PTI)
Many visitors were trapped as there was only one entry and exit point. (PTI)

Nitin Jain, the gaming centre manager, fled the scene after finding it impossible to douse the flames with a small fire extinguisher. Multiple blasts soon reduced the centre to ashes.

Chauhan said his brother-in-law and sister-in-law were on the third floor of the TRP Game Zone when the fire erupted. He added his brother-in-law jumped from the third floor to rescue the three children accompanying them but was trapped and killed. The sister-in-law was rescued from the third floor but Chauhan’s 15-year-old son Rajbha and his two cousins were charred to death.

Chauhan’s ordeal continued for four days. On May 29, the authorities completed the process of handing over 27 out of the 28 bodies to their relatives after matching DNA samples. Authorities were yet to find claimants for one body.

An Indian working in Canada, who was at the gaming zone with his fiancé, and his US-based parents was among those dead. Another person managed to escape while two of his friends died at the gaming zone.

The blaze broke out at the TRP Game Zone, which was functioning without a No Objection Certificate from the fire department, during some welding work. Many visitors were trapped as there was only one entry and exit point. Thousands of liters of petrol and diesel stored in the zone exacerbated the situation.

Prakash Hiran, who had over 50% equity stake in the TRP Game Zone, was among those killed. He and five others were booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt), and 338 (causing grievous hurt).

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