AT LEAST 27 people, including children, were killed as a massive fire broke out at TRP, a private amusement park/ gaming zone, in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Saturday afternoon. Officials said TRP did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department.
In a statement, the state government said 27 bodies had been brought for post-mortem at the Rajkot Civil Hospital. Most of the bodies were charred, making identification difficult. “Their DNA samples are being drawn for identification… The process is on at the Rajkot Civil Hospital police post to collect DNA samples of family members so that the DNA can be matched,” the statement said.
Rajkot District Collector Prabhav Joshi said most of the victims were children. Officials did not rule out the possibility of the toll rising. The government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General of Police (CID-crime) Subhash Trivedi, to probe the incident. The SIT, which includes Banchhanidhi Pani, commissioner of technical education; H P Sanghvi, director of Forensic Science Laboratory, Gandhinagar; J N Khadiya, chief fire officer of Ahmedabad; and M B Desai, superintending engineer of road and buildings department, has been asked to submit a preliminary report within three days, followed by a final report within 10 days.
Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, who was on his way to Rajkot, told The Indian Express that the SIT has been directed to begin work immediately. “I will be holding a meeting with the officials at 3 am (Sunday),” he said.
Rajkot Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Parthraj Gohil told The Indian Express that four persons associated with the gaming zone had been detained. “We are finding out who the land, on which the gaming zone was set up, belonged to, and who was running it,” said Gohil.
Police sources said TRP was set up about two years ago.
A senior police officer said the co-owner, Yuvrajsinh Solanki, and manager, Nitin Jain, were among those detained. “We are also looking for Prakash Jain, another person associated with the gaming zone. He is reported to have been inside the premises when the fire broke out,” the officer said.
Rajkot Mayor Nayna Pedhadiya said the gaming zone, operating from a two-storey tin shed, did not have any NOC from the fire department. “We will investigate how it was functioning without a fire NOC… No politics will be allowed over this issue. This is not a small incident,” Pedhadiya told mediapersons after she arrived at the site to oversee the search and rescue operation.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Khare said TRP had not applied for any fire NOC. “We are checking the details. But prima facie, there are no records of the operators having applied for a fire NOC. Nor had they applied for any other type of clearance from the municipal corporation,” Khare said.
“The fire control room received a call at around 4.30 pm regarding the blaze. Fire-tenders and ambulances rushed to the spot,” District Collector Joshi said. “Part of the shed has collapsed. Firefighters managed to control the fire, but the fumes are still emanating from the debris and we apprehend that more people could be trapped under it,” he said at around 8 pm.
Joshi said that prima facie, the cause of the fire appeared to be an electrical short-circuit. “As the park had been set up under a shed, many air-conditioners had been mounted there. The electrical wiring may not have been able to handle the load, leading to a short-circuit, which could have sparked the fire,” he said.
D M Haripara, police inspector of Rajkot taluka police station, under whose jurisdiction the gaming zone is located, said they were in the process of registering an FIR. The incident comes at a time when the Gujarat government is in the process of regulating amusement parks and is scheduled to come out with guidelines.
In a post on X, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced that “the state government will provide Rs 4 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.” He said “instructions have been given to the municipal corporation and the administration for immediate rescue and relief operations… It has been instructed to prioritise arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured”.
“Extremely distressed by the fire mishap in Rajkot. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured. The local administration is working to provide all possible assistance to those affected,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
President Droupadi Murmu also expressed “deep anguish” over the loss of lives. “My heart goes out to the families who have lost their near and dear ones including young children. I pray to the Almighty for the speedy recovery of those being rescued,” she said.
With inputs from ENS, Ahmedabad
