Gujarat Sets Up Probe into Rajkot Fire Tragedy

The Gujarat government has established a committee to investigate the role of officials in the May 25 Rajkot game zone fire, which resulted in the death of 27 individuals. The committee's creation follows dissatisfaction expressed by the Gujarat High Court regarding ongoing investigations and aims to fix accountability and examine municipal functioning.

The Gujarat government took action on Monday by setting up a 'fact finding committee' to investigate the role of officials in the May 25 Rajkot game zone fire tragedy, which claimed 27 lives.

This committee is composed of IAS officers Manisha Chandra, P. Swaroop, and Rajkumar Beniwal, as confirmed by Principal Secretary in the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, Ashwani Kumar.

This decision follows the Gujarat High Court's displeasure with the ongoing investigation into the fire. The Court ordered an inquiry to uncover how the illegal structure was permitted and the role of officials involved.

Criticizing the attendance of senior officials at TRP Game Zone's inauguration, the division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, on June 13, stressed the need for a departmental inquiry to pinpoint accountability once the fact-finding committee's report is submitted.

Chief Justice Agarwal highlighted during the June 13 hearing that there must be a comprehensive inquiry to identify flaws from the construction to occupancy stages of the game zone.

The bench further admonished the administration for targeting smaller officials while questioning the absence of action against senior officials present at the inauguration.

This suo motu PIL is under the court's scrutiny since May 26. The state government has been instructed to form the committee by the Principal Secretary of the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, with a report due by July 4.

In addition to the Rajkot fire incident, the committee is tasked with examining the operations of all municipal corporations.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)