The High Court became furious when it was told that two gaming zones had been operating for over two years each without the required permits.
Rajkot Fire: Twenty-eight people, including nine children, were killed and three were injured, in a fire that erupted at a gaming zone in Rajkot, Gujrat, on Saturday, May 25. The bodies were burnt beyond recognition.
Two days later, on Monday, 27 May, the Gujarat High Court castigated Rajkot’s municipal body for failing to certify at least two such structures in the city.
The High Court became furious when it was told that two gaming zones had been operating for over two years each without the required permits, including fire safety certificates. The court said it could no longer “trust” the state government which is controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reports NDTV.
The Rajkot municipal body said in the court that “our approval was not taken” to which an infuriated court said, “This has been going on for two-and-a-half years (referring to the Rajkot gaming zone). Are we to assume you turned a blind eye? What do you and your followers do?”, say NDTV reports.
It is said that the Rajkot gaming zone was granted a license by the local police in November last year renewed to December 31, 2024, said Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava.
Then the lid was off the cup for the Rajkot municipal body after photographs showed officials at the gaming zone. “Who were these officers? Did they go there to play?” asked the court.
The HC then dressed down the Gujarat Government as it observed, “Have you gone blind? Did you fall asleep? Now we do not trust the local system and the state.”
The court fumed when told that fire safety certification hearings have been unresolved for four years.
“People are dying due to (state) machinery (not working),” observed the court.
The fire erupted at a temporary structure at the TRP game zone owned by a person called Yuvraj Singh Solanki. Children were among the victims who were present at the location in large numbers because of the ongoing summer vacations.
The gaming zone was backed by six partners of whom two have been arrested. It was set up in 2021 but did not apply for a fire safety certificate till this year.