Rajkot gaming zone co-owner confirmed dead in fire, body identified: police

Prakash Hiran, one of the owners of the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, was confirmed dead in the fire that broke out at the establishment on Saturday and claimed the lives of 28 people, including several children .

The identification was made through DNA testing, which compared samples of the remains found at the scene with those of Prakash Hiran's mother. Hiran was also one of the main accused in the incident.

A senior police official said Hiran's body was handed over to his family early this morning after the successful identification process. “Prakash Hiran was the largest shareholder of TRP Game Zone, holding over 50% stake. His family accepted his body today morning,” the official added.

The incident came to light when Prakash's brother Jitendra Hiran filed a complaint with the police reporting his brother missing after the fire. In his complaint, Jitendra said, “After the fire, there was no contact with Prakash, all phone numbers were switched off and Prakash's car was found at the fire site. »

CCTV footage from the time of the fire also corroborated the presence of Prakash Hiran at the gaming center during the tragic event.

“As of Tuesday evening, around 24 bodies have been identified after DNA tests and matches,” the official said.

The TRP gaming zone is located in Nana-Mava locality of Rajkot. The fire was allegedly caused by welding work carried out at the facility, which did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire brigade and had only one entry-exit point, trapping many visitors inside. Several liters of gasoline and diesel were stored in the area, worsening the situation.

As part of a statewide crackdown, the government closed 20 gaming zones across eight municipal areas for lack of necessary permits. Eighty additional gaming areas were “temporarily closed” because authorities could not verify with absolute certainty their compliance with safety protocols for citizens.

A first information report (FIR) was lodged at the Rajkot Taluka police station against Hiran and five others under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (injury by an act). which endangers the life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing serious harm to a person by carrying out an act which endangers their life or personal safety).