Rajkot game zone fire: 6 officials suspended; HC says no faith in state machinery

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Monday suspended six officials in connection with the loss of 27 lives in the Rajkot game zone fire, even as the Gujarat High Court said it had no faith in the state machinery, which gets into action only when innocent lives are lost.

The suspended officials have been held responsible for their “gross negligence in allowing the game zone to operate without necessary approvals”, a government release stated.

Those suspended are Rajkot Municipal Corporation's town planning department assistant engineer Jaideep Chaudhary, assistant town planner for RMC Gautam Joshi, Rajkot Roads and Buildings department's deputy executive engineers MR Suma and Paras Kothiya, and police inspectors VR Patel and NI Rathod, as per orders passed by the respective departments.

Notably, the game zone, where the blaze erupted on Saturday, was operated without the fire NOC (no objection certificate).

“The game zone had received permissions from the roads and buildings department. It had also submitted a proof of fire safety equipment to obtain the fire NOC, which was under process and not yet completed," Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava told reporters on Sunday.

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

The police have arrested two persons and registered an FIR against six partners of the game zone and another accused on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, officials earlier said.

In the Gujarat High Court, a special bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai asked the Rajkot Municipal Corporation 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.

The court said the state machinery gets into action only after innocent lives are lost.

The HC was hearing a suo motu PIL on the deadly fire. Earlier, it had called it a “man-made disaster”.

The court also observed on Monday 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 game zone was operated without the fire NOC (no objection certificate), as per officials.

On Monday, a counsel pointed out that the incident required immediate preventive and corrective measures, and the state will have to come forward to hold a person accountable, and this calls for drastic steps.

The court then said, “Who will take such drastic steps? Honestly speaking, we do not have faith in the state machinery now. Four years after orders of this court, directing them, after their assurance, this is the sixth incident that has happened. They only want lives to be lost and then trigger the machinery," the court observed.

To the RMC counsel's submission that the game zone had not applied to the authorities for requisite permissions, the court asked whether the civic body was blind to such a big structure having come up under its jurisdiction.

“You were blind to that, that this big structure existed, you were not aware of it? What is the corporation's explanation that the whole zone existed for the last two-and-a-half years? What fire safety did they apply for? When ticketing was done, were you aware of entertainment tax? So we take it that you are completely turning a blind eye to the whole issue?” the court said.

The HC also wanted to know when the corporation first recognised the existence of the game zone.

“Till then you were completely ignorant of such a structure in the vicinity? Were you not aware of the orders of this court for fire safety (passed) in a PIL? What were you doing then? There are media reports that your municipal commissioner went there at the time of inauguration. We can't take judicial notice of that fact? For 18 months, what did the corporation do? Sat over it?" the bench asked.

It directed the incumbent RMC commissioner and officers who held the municipal commissioner's post from July 2021 till the date of the incident to file affidavits before the court, explaining various issues regarding certificates on the structural stability of such constructions, etc.

“We refrain at this stage from passing any orders, though we would certainly desire to, to suggest that the officers in question be suspended for dereliction of duty and non-compliance of the direction of this court. We do not do so with the hope to give them a chance," the bench further said.

The HC also directed chief fire officers of the Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot municipal corporations to file affidavits on the fire safety measures (in areas of their jurisdiction), such as installation of fire hydrants, checking of fire safety equipment, whether licences (to operate) were obtained from the respective collectorates or mamlatdars.

The state has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased. The Central government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased person.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat Congress has demanded that senior civic and state officials and office-bearers of the ruling BJP be named in the FIR registered in the Rajkot game zone fire, stressing that action against junior-level employees is meaningless.