On 25 May 2024, a fire broke out at a gaming zone in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, India, killing 33 people.

Background

The amusement park was built in 2024 in temporary structures that had tin roofs and two floors. There were insufficient fire extinguishers and emergency exits in the buildings according to reports. The building also did not possess the required certification from the fire department.

Incident

On the evening of 25 May, a fire started on the ground floor of the two-story building. The fire was reportedly caused when some welding work was being carried out and quickly spread into surrounding areas due to the already high temperature in the areas. Furthermore, there was only one exit in the first floor. Nearly 2,000 litres of diesel was stored at the TRP Game Zone for generators, while 1,000 to 1,500 litres of petrol was stored for go-kart racing, which made the fire almost uncontrollable. There were around 70 to 80 people at the time of fire. The fire resulted in the deaths of at least 33 people including nine children and another 26 people still missing.

Investigation

The

government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

formed a

Special Investigation Team are Police tactical unit, tactical detective units of Japanese prefectural police forces. Special Investigation Teams are maintained by prefectural police headquarters (PPH) and are trained to handle critical incidents including criminal investi ...

(SIT) to investigate the fire incident. The SIT, led by Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi, was tasked with submitting a report within 72 hours and commenced its inquiry promptly upon arrival in

. Initial investigations revealed that the fire originated from sparks during

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melting, melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Co ...

work, which ignited flammable materials stored nearby. The gaming zone was operating without the necessary

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...

permits and lacked adequate

emergency exit An emergency exit in a building or other structure is a special exit used during emergencies such as fires. The combined use of regular and emergency exits allows for faster evacuation, and emergency exits provide alternative means of evacu ...

s. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against six partners of the gaming zone on charges of

culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...

not amounting to murder. Subsequently, the owner and manager were arrested, and FIRs were registered against six employees. As the investigation progressed, the number of accused increased to 11, with nine individuals arrested. One of the accused, Prakash Hiran, was found deceased in the fire. The

Gujarat High Court The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the ''Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960'' after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State. The seat of the court is Ahmedabad. Establ ...

took

suo motu In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its, or their own accord") or ''suo motu/suo moto'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting by another party. The term is usually applied to actions taken by a ...

cognizance of the incident, describing it as a "man-made disaster." The court observed that such gaming zones and recreational facilities had been established without requisite approvals from competent authorities. It directed

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

s to provide information on the legal provisions under which these establishments were permitted to operate. In response to the incident, the Gujarat government suspended nine officials, including the

Chief Fire Officer Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer or county fire officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of t ...

and other municipal personnel, citing

gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross neg ...

in allowing the gaming zone to operate without necessary approvals. Additionally, four government officials, including town planning officers and a former fire station officer, were arrested in connection with the tragedy.

Aftermath

Following the incident, the Gujarat DGP instructed all gaming zones in the state to be inspected and close those operating without fire safety permits. It also directed police to conduct the procedure in coordination with municipal fire officers. The Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel announced an ex gratia of ₹400,000 to the kin of each of the dead and ₹50,000 to each injured. He also visited the scene of the fire and met with victims of the disaster in hospital. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

expressed condolences and prayers for the victims. Prime Minister

expressed his condolences, stating on X that he was "extremely distressed" by the disaster. He also announced an

ex gratia (; also spelled ''ex-gratia'') is Latin for "by favor", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ''ex gratia'', it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace. In law, an ''ex gratia payment'' is a payment ...

of ₹2

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...

from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the

next of kin A person's next of kin (NOK) may be that person's spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. A female spouse is called a wife while a male spouse is called a husband. Married The legal status of a spouse, and the specific righ ...

of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.

References

{{reflist Building and structure fires in India

2020s in Gujarat

Disasters in Gujarat History of Rajkot

Background

Incident

Investigation

Aftermath

See also

References