Rajkot: The charred remains of three of the 32 people killed in the horrific blaze at a Rajkot gaming zone last week were handed over to their families early Monday, as it becomes increasingly clear how vulnerable and ill-equipped the building was to such a hazard.
Bereaved kin of the other 29 deceased also protested in front of the city civil hospital where authorities are trying to identify bodies with DNA samples.
Angry relatives said they needed “immediate answers”, while pointing to lapses in the follow-up probe.
Mehul, whose 20-year-old brother Kalpesh Bhai was at the TRP Gaming Zone on the fateful Saturday evening, said he believed his brother was alive since his name was not in the first information report (FIR). “We are searching for him,” he told ThePrint.
Among those whose remains were returned was Jagdish Bhai, who was DNA-identified on Sunday night. His relative Bhavan Singh claimed that Jagdish died a martyr. “He saved many people but couldn’t save himself.” The 40-year-old had started working at the gaming zone a little over 20 days ago.
Jagdish’s older brother Hitesh appealed to the government to not let such a disaster be repeated. “Such incidents keep happening. There’s ruckus for a while and then everyone moves on until another tragedy. We just want the government to ensure no other family suffers the loss that we have. Tighter safety measures need to be implemented,” Hitesh said.
‘Owners responsible’
The FIR filed on the complaint of the chief fire officer has squarely blamed owners, Dhawal Corporation, for the fire. Proprietor Dhawal Thakkar is currently absconding.
In the complaint, the fire safety officer said the gaming zone functioned without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department. “TRP never filed for an NOC. Without an NOC, it doesn’t look like the management was well-equipped to handle a fire incident,” the FIR read.
The FIR, accessed by ThePrint, also stated that the structure of TRP Gaming Zone was made of fibre and metal, in which iron angles and galvanised sheets were used as base. The wires for air conditioners were spread through a very large area and had not been covered or insulated. The structure was 50 m wide and 60 m long.
“There was no fire equipment that could be used to fight fire in case of emergency,” the FIR read. “The fire seems to have happened because of hazardous construction of the game zone.”
Six people have been accused, including Dhawal Thakkar, partners Ashok Singh Jadeja, Keertisinh Jadeja, Prakash Chand, Yuvraj Singh Solanki and Rahul Rathore.
They have been booked under 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) of IPC.
“All six had knowledge that TRP had been running without fire safety equipment or NOC,” the FIR further said.
Anger in Rajkot
Residents who live in the vicinity of the gaming zone are appalled that such a popular place had no permission nor safety measures.
An Instagram post from 2022 by TRP Gaming Zone is also being widely shared. In the photograph, top bureaucrats of the district including the municipal commissioner, then district collector and cops are seen standing in front of the gaming zone.
Videos of the fire at the facility are also being widely shared – some show parents screaming, “My kid is upstairs,” and rushing to save their loved ones. Some of the parents in these videos were killed.
Photographs of fire extinguishers kept neatly wrapped in plastic at the facility are going viral too, fuelling more angst.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Children’s hospital in Vivek Vihar where blaze claimed 6 lives didn’t have fire NOC, owner booked
everybody know very well of what will happen to this case, what the govts. at state n central do to safeguard and what the concerned departments like municipality and inspections do… all are corrupt and end of the day, it is innocents who loose lives and their families that are in trouble… so better we make up our minds that each time we visit any such place, do keep inquiring about the safety measures being followed there, the emergency exits, … etc… only when we public do this, such incidents will stop as no one else is least bothered… so many govt. departments, but many of them have employees who got the jobs either on reservation categories or by bribery… and the results are in front of us… only we can improve the situations by inquiries and report immediately to the media about these places all across the social media,, only then these careless businesses will correct their practices for safety