TRP game zone fire: Gujarat HC raps Rajkot civic body, says it doesn't have faith in State machinery

Gujarat High Court questions Rajkot Municipal Corporation's negligence in TRP game zone fire tragedy, demanding accountability from officials.

The Gujarat High Court on Monday came down heavily on the Rajkot civic body over the game zone fire which left 33 persons dead, and said it does not have faith in the State machinery which gets into action only after innocent lives are lost.

The court pulled up the Rajkot Municipal Corporation and asked whether it had turned a blind eye to such a big structure coming up in its vicinity, after the RMC's lawyer submitted that the TRP game zone had not asked for requisite permissions.

A special Bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai was hearing a suo motu PIL on the game zone fire incident.

The court also observed that all the Rajkot municipal commissioners, from the time the TRP game zone was set up in 2021 till the time of this incident (on May 25) "should be held accountable for the tragedy that occurred," and directed them to furnish separate affidavits.

The fire at the TRP game zone in the Nana-Mava locality of Rajkot on Saturday evening killed 27 persons, including children.

The game zone was operated without the fire NOC (no objection certificate), as per officials.

The HC on Sunday took suo motu cognisance of the fire tragedy, terming it a prima facie "man-made disaster".