New Delhi, May 27
In a tragic incident, a devastating fire at a gaming parlour killed 25 people including nine children in Rajkot of Gujarat.
Three people have been arrested in the incident, including the owner and manager of the TRP game zone while four booked by police are on the run.
The police have grabbed a CCTV footage showing welding work being done and sparks from it falling on a stack of wooden planks inside the Rajkot game zone.
The video shows welding work underway on what appeared to be in the ceiling of an area in the game zone. Sparks due to the welding could be seen falling on several stacks of wooden planks lying below. In only a matter of a few minutes, smoke could be seen coming out from a corner before it flares up and turns into a massive blaze.
As per the probe, the game zone lacked a No Objective Certificate (NOC) from the fire department. The place had only one route that served as both entry and exit points. Thousands of litres of diesel and petrol were stored in various pockets of the game zone, and the presence of such huge quantities of inflammable substances caused the fire to spread fast.
The officials said that the bodies were charred beyond recognition and the DNA samples of the victims as well as their relatives were collected for identification.
The police have filed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against six people under IPC Sections 304, 308, 337, 338, and 114.
The exact cause of fire is still under investigation. the police have formed a special investigation team to probe the case in details.
PM Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakhs to the kin of the victims.
