Newly married couple, bride's sister among 28 killed in Rajkot game zone fire
The fire accident at a game zone in Gujarat's Rajkot on Saturday evening, in which almost 28 people were killed, also claimed the lives of a newly-married couple and the wife's sister.
Akshay Dholaria, his wife Khyati and sister-in-law Harita went to Rajkot's TRP gaming zone, to unwind after the wedding festivities when a huge fire swept through the facility.
Akshay, 24, who was studying in Canada, had come to Rajkot to marry 20-year-old Khyati. They had a court marriage last Saturday - a week before the tragedy occurred.
Their bodies were burnt beyond recognition but luckily Akshay's body was identified with the help of the ring he was wearing.
Meanwhile, the police have asked for DNA samples from Khyati and Harita's parents to confirm their identity.
The gaming zone was packed with visitors due to a weekend discount offer with tickets priced at just Rs 99. It is suspected that the fire might have started due to a short circuit, but officials said that the exact cause will be known only after a probe.
According to the officials, the death toll is likely to go up. Currently out of the 28 lives lost, four of them include kids below the age of 12.
After the incident, the police detained the owner of the TRP Game Zone and the manager while the state government assigned the probe to a Special Investigation Team.
Officials said that the amusement centre was operating without a no-objection certificate (NOC) for fire clearance and also had just one exit.
However, the exact cause of the massive fire is not yet known.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed grief over the incident.
PM Modi spoke to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Saturday to enquire about the rescue and relief efforts.
The CM has announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured.