Rajkot Municipal Corporation suspends two officials over illegal TRP Game Zone | Latest News India

The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has suspended Town Planning Officer (TPO) MD Sagathiya and his deputy Mukesh Makwana after they were arrested in connection with the devastating fire in the TRP gaming zone on May 25 in which 27 people were killed, officials said on Monday.

The suspension orders were issued in the backdrop of the Criminal Investigation Department’s investigation, which revealed that officials had failed to take action against the illegal construction of the gambling facility despite initiating proceedings in April 2023. Officials said notices were initially issued asking the owners of the TRP gambling zone to remove the unauthorised structure within seven days.

But instead of going through with it, officials gave the owners the opportunity to approve the construction under the Gujarat Regularisation of Unauthorised Development Act (GRUDA), 2022, said a government official familiar with the construction project.

Municipal Commissioner Devang Desai suspended the two officials on the grounds that they had committed irresponsibility, negligence, laxity, dereliction of duty and acts that had damaged the reputation of the civic administration.

The corporation had earlier suspended three other officials – Gautam Joshi, deputy town planner, Jaydip Chaudhary, deputy engineer in the town planning department, and Rohit Vigora, the in-charge of the RMC’s Kalavad Road fire station.

The investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department revealed that the officials were aware of the illegal construction of the tin shed that housed the indoor play facilities in the TRP Play Zone but failed to take appropriate action. The devastating fire on May 25 raged in the three-storey tin shed, which was 50 metres wide and 60 metres long, leaving 27 dead and nine injured.

The Rajkot Crime Branch has arrested four owners and a manager of the TRP Gaming Zone, in addition to the four suspended officials. Investigations by the authorities have revealed major safety lapses at the facility, including the absence of a fire safety NOC and emergency exits, and ongoing welding work that may have contributed to the fire.