The Gujarat High Court on Sunday said that on a preliminary reading it seemed that the fire at a gaming zone in Rajkot, which left 33 persons dead, appeared to have been a man-made disaster, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai expressed shock at media reports saying that temporary tin structures had been set up at the gaming zone to circumvent restrictions.

The court said that apart from Rajkot, such establishments had also been set up in Ahmedabad, and that they posed risks to safety. The bench will take up the matter on Monday.

Advertisement

The fire broke out on Saturday evening at a temporary structure at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot. While locals said that the blaze spread quickly following a short circuit in an air conditioner, officials said a more detailed investigation was required.

The police have arrested the owner of the gaming zone, Yuvraj Hari Singh Solanki, and its manager, Nitin Jain, ANI reported. They will be produced before court on Monday.

A first information report has been filed against six persons, including Solanki and Jain. The police have invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, endangering the life or personal safety of others and causing grievous hurt.

Advertisement

Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava said that a nine-member special investigation team has been formed and efforts are underway to arrest the other accused persons. The special investigation team has been asked to investigate whether the game zone had necessary approvals, including a fire no-objection certificate, from the authorities

“According to the preliminary information, some fabrication work was happening there,” the police commissioner said. “There were many inflammable materials, and the fire occurred possibly because of welding activity.”