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Rajkot: Police Commissioner, 3 others transferred after fire tragedy killed 28

May 27, 2024 07:44 PM IST

The police have arrested the gaming zone's owner - Yuvraj Singh Solanki, and his manager - Nitin Jain, under various charges

The Gujarat government on Monday transferred Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava, city civic chief, and two other IPS officers days after a massive fire at a game zone facility killed 28, including four children.

Officials inspect the site of a fire accident at a gaming zone in Rajkot on May 26, 2024.(AFP)
Officials inspect the site of a fire accident at a gaming zone in Rajkot on May 26, 2024.(AFP)

CCTV camera footage shows how blaze started. Video

Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava has been replaced by IPS officer Brijesh Kumar Jha. Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration, Traffic and Crime) Vidhi Choudhary and DCP-Zone 2 Sudhirkumar J Desai have also been transferred.

Earlier in the day, the Gujarat High Court rapped the state government over the tragic incident saying that it does not have faith in the state machinery “which gets into action only after innocent lives are lost.”

The bench asked whether the civic body had turned a blind eye to such a big structure coming up in its vicinity after its lawyer submitted that the TRP Game Zone had not asked for requisite permissions.

According to the police, the gaming zone did not have the required fire safety clearance from the city’s municipal corporation at the time of the incident. While the gaming zone owners had submitted bills to the police for fire safety equipment and claimed to have installed such equipment on the premises, the process for obtaining the necessary Fire NOC (No Objection Certificate) was underway but had not been completed.

'Were you asleep?': Gujarat high court slams state govt over Rajkot game zone fire, say reports

The police have arrested the gaming zone's owner - Yuvraj Singh Solanki, and his manager - Nitin Jain, under various charges, including culpable homicide.

An FIR has also been registered against four other accused under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 114 (abettor present when offense is committed) of the Indian Penal Code.

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.

Gujarat HC comes down heavily on Rajkot civic body over game zone fire tragedy

Following the incident, the state government formed a five-member SIT to probe it. On Sunday, the five-member team was asked to submit the preliminary report of the incident within three days during a meeting with the local administration in Rajkot.

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