Rajkot: Sitting outside Rajkot’s district hospital, family members of those presumed dead after a deadly fire at the popular TRP Gaming Zone in the city Saturday demand answers — they haven’t even seen the bodies of their relatives.
“Our entire family of 12 visited TRP Gaming Zone on Friday. Sunil had taken us all. He had told us not to come on Sunday,” says Bhavan Bhai Thakkar, crying bitterly. Sunil, his brother-in-law who was killed in the fire, worked at TRP Gaming Zone. Sunil is survived by ageing parents, his wife and a seven-year-old daughter, says Thakkar.
None of the family members have yet received the remains of their relatives because the bodies have been burnt beyond recognition. A forensic team from Gandhinagar has arrived at AIIMS, Rajkot and the city’s civil hospital to collect DNA samples.
Thakkar and dozens of others are now anxiously waiting for the test results. “I brought Sunil’s 84-year-old father for DNA sampling last night at 12 am, and we were told we would get an answer by 6 pm today. Now nobody is giving us answers, and we’re very anxious,” adds Thakkar.
According to official figures, the death toll stands at 32. However, conflicting numbers are being reported in the media. A ward boy at the civil hospital tells ThePrint that 60 bodies have so far been sent to the civil hospital as well as AIIMS, Rajkot.
“DNA testing failed at Gandhinagar,” a senior police officer tells ThePrint on the condition of anonymity. “We had sent six samples to Gandhinagar for forensic testing, but the tests failed because even retrieving DNA from the bodies is difficult,” he added.
The officer also confirms that TRP Gaming Zone was functioning without a no-objection certificate from the fire department.
Heera Bhai, who lost his relative, 33-year-old Jagdish, says, “First Takshashila in Surat (referring to the 2019 fire), then Morbi bridge, and now this fire at TRP. How are these businesses running? Does the government not care about our wellbeing at all?”
Rajkot police have registered an FIR against six people, of whom two have been arrested so far: Nitin Jain, a manager at TRP Gaming Zone, and Yuvraj Solanki, one of the partners in the venture.
The police have so far declined to share a copy of the FIR, but according to officers, it has been registered under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (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 offence is committed)
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the case. ThePrint reached Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi, head of the SIT, via telephone, but he was unable to offer a comment immediately. This report will be updated when he responds.
Inflammable material
TRP was a two-floor gaming zone in a posh locality of Rajkot. It had a restaurant, a go-kart track, and a playing arena. Only a cement facade now stands intact.
Bulldozers had cleaned up the area when ThePrint arrived Sunday evening. Metal debris, half-burnt swing sets, games and children’s clothes were lying scattered.
The fire department was still looking for body parts in the debris, and recovering them even 24 hours after the incident.
There was a lot of foam in the debris as well, which according to a police officer is a highly inflammable material. “The fire was caused due to welding work. The place was full of gaming seats made of foam, which caught fire quickly and it went out of control,” says the officer.
Canisters full of petrol and diesel are also believed to have been kept at the facility, which further exacerbated the problem.
“There’s a go-kart track nearby, so there is news of petrol and diesel canisters. However, it has not been confirmed yet, and a report from the forensic department is awaited,” District Collector Prabhav Joshi tells ThePrint.