Newly-Married Couple Among 27 Killed In Rajkot Gaming Zone Fire

A newly married couple was among the 27 people killed in a massive fire at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Saturday evening.

Akshay Dholaria, his wife Khyati and sister-in-law Harita were celebrating the couple’s wedding at the gaming zone when a huge fire swept through the facility.

Akshay, 24, who lived with his parents in Canada, had come to Rajkot to marry 20-year-old Khyati. They had a court marriage last Saturday – a week before the tragedy occurred.

A grand wedding ceremony was scheduled later this year.

Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition. While Akshay’s body was identified with the help of the ring he was wearing, the bodies of Khyati and Harita have been sent for DNA testing.

The gaming zone, called TRP, was packed with visitors due to a weekend discount offer with tickets priced at just Rs 99. It is suspected that the fire might have started due to a short circuit, but officials said that the exact cause will be known only after a probe.

Officials said that the amusement centre was operating without a no-objection certificate (NOC) for fire clearance and also had just one exit.

The owner and manager of the TRP game zone have been detained for questioning.

According to fire officials, the reason behind the massive blaze has not been ascertained yet.

Twenty-eight people, including nine children, have died in the massive fire that broke out at a gaming zone in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Saturday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the incident site at Nana-Mava road on Sunday morning and a hospital where the injured are being treated.

Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vinayak Patel said that DNA samples have been collected to identify the bodies of the victims.

“The bodies are charred beyond recognition, and we have completed the process of collecting the DNA samples of the bodies and the relatives who have claimed them so that the identity of the deceased can be established,” he said, adding that the three people injured in the incident are now in a stable condition.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing the fire tragedy has been asked to submit the report at the earliest.

Mr Sanghvi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought information about the incident from the Chief Minister and directed strong action against the culprits.