16 June,2024 01:49 PM IST | Rajkot | mid-day online correspondent
Firefighters extinguish a fire which broke out at an amusement park facility in Rajkot, in India`s Gujarat state. Pic/AFP
Two Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials have been arrested for allegedly manipulating paperwork linked to the TRP game zone where a fire last month killed 27 people, police said on Sunday.
The overall number of arrests in connection with the May 25 Rajkot game zone fire now stands at 12, including six government workers.
According to Parthrajsinh Gohil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, the city crime branch apprehended RMC assistant town planning officer Rajesh Makwana and assistant engineer Jaideep Chaudhary on Saturday for allegedly changing an official register following the Rajkot game zone fire, reported PTI.
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"They made certain changes in government documents related to the TRP game zone after the fire incident. They also forged documents. So far we have arrested six government employees and six other persons in connection with the TRP game zone fire," Gohil said.
In addition to Makwana and Chaudhary, the other four arrested government employees in the Rajkot game zone fire include Town Planning Officer MD Sagathia, assistant TPOs Mukesh Makwana and Gautam Joshi, and former station officer of Kalavad Road fire station Rohit Vigora, reported PTI.
The report added that Ashoksinh Jadeja, a co-owner of the game zone, surrendered to the police on Thursday evening. Jadeja is one of six owners of the TRP game zone. Five have been arrested, and one died in the Rajkot game zone fire. A manager of the game zone has also been arrested.
During the investigation, it was confirmed that one co-owner, Prakash Hiran, named in the FIR and missing since the Rajkot game zone fire, died in the fire as he was inside the facility when it was engulfed. CCTV footage revealed that the fire started when sparks from welding work on the ground floor ignited polystyrene sheets. Workers attempted to extinguish the blaze, but it spread rapidly, engulfing the game zone, the news agency report stated.
The game zone was operating without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the RMC's fire department, police said.
Following the Rajkot game zone fire, several game zones and recreational hubs across the state were sealed, and FIRs were filed against owners for operating without the necessary permissions.
