Rajkot game zone fire: PM Modi extends Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to victims’ kin

A day after 27 persons, including four children, were killed and three were injured in the massive fire that swept through the game zone in Nana-Mava locality of Gujarat's Rajkot city, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PM's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased, his office said on Sunday (May 26).

The injured persons would be given Rs 50,000, the Prime Minister's Office said on X.

The Gujarat government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and PM Modi have expressed grief over the incident.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, PM Modi expressed grief over the loss of life in the tragedy. “Extremely distressed by the fire mishap in Rajkot. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured. The local administration is working to provide all possible assistance to those affected,” Modi said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited Rajkot on Sunday morning (May 26). He inspected the fire tragedy site and also met family members of the victims.

He offered condolences to the bereaved families, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a press statement.

CM seeks thorough probe

Patel later held a high-level review meeting at the Hirasar Airport in Rajkot regarding the rescue and relief work, treatment of the injured, and other measures taken by the local administration. During the meeting, he instructed the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and take strict and punitive action against those responsible for the tragedy, the CMO said.

The CM was briefed about the prompt action taken by fire teams of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and police in carrying out the rescue and relief operations soon after the fire incident was reported.

For the identification of the bodies, their samples were collected and sent for DNA analysis to a forensic science laboratory in Gandhinagar through an air ambulance, officials informed the chief minister. They also told the chief minister that priority was given to shifting the injured persons to hospital and saving people from the fire.

Burns ward comes up in Rajkot

A burns ward with a capacity of 100 beds was set up at the civil hospital and surgeons and trained nurses were immediately called to Rajkot from Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Morbi, Junagadh, and Bhavnagar, as per the release.

Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi and other members of the state-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) reached Rajkot late Saturday night to carry out a probe into the cause of the incident and hand over a preliminary report to the Gujarat government within three days.

Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay has ordered the closure of all game zones in different cities of the state as a precautionary measure, and safety measures including related to fire are being verified, the chief minister was told in the meeting.

(With agency inputs)