Three-member panel to submit report on Rajkot fire tragedy by June 30

Rajkot : The Gujarat government has formed a three-member committee to probe the Rajkot TRP Game Zone fire tragedy that killed 28 people, including children, on May 25.

This committee members -- Manisha Chandra, P. Swarup, and Rajkumar Beniwal -- have been tasked with submitting a detailed report to Ashwini Kumar, Principal Secretary in the Urban Development Department, by June 30.

Ashwini Kumar will present the report before the Gujarat High Court on July 4.

The tragic incident is already being probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Rajkot Police, Crime Branch, and the Special Operations Group (SOG).

Prakashchand Hiran, one of the co-owners and an accused in the case, was among the 28 people who lost their lives in the fire incident.

Of the 11 individuals charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, 10, including six co-owners and four Rajkot civic body officials, have been arrested so far.

Last week, Subhash Trivedi, the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case, visited Rajkot to speed up the investigation process.

"The efficiency of the fire department, the functioning of different municipal departments, and compliance with the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR) and Rajkot Urban Development Authority (RUDA) rules are all being investigated," said Trivedi, ADGP, CID (Crime).

He also said that possible errors on the part of the town planning department are under examination, emphasising the need for a thorough and detailed probe.