The Gujarat High Court on Thursday granted regular bail to three individuals accused in the TRP Game Zone fire, which claimed the lives of 27 people, including four children, in Rajkot on May 25 last year.
The three individuals granted bail are Rajeshbhai Narsinhbhai Makwana, an assistant town planning officer; Jaydipbhai Balubhai Choudhary, an assistant engineer; and Gautam Devshankar Joshi, also an assistant town planning officer.
The court, however, rejected the bail pleas of four other accused. These individuals include Ileshkumar Valabhai Kher, the Chief Fire Officer of Rajkot; Ashoksinh Jagdishsinh Jadeja, one of the co-owners of TRP Game Zone; Kiritsinh Jagdishsinh Jadeja, a joint co-owner of the land on which the game zone was built; and Mansukhbhai Dhanajibhai Sagathiya, the city’s town planning officer.
Following the ruling, the State’s counsel sought to stay the grant of bail for the three applicants, but the court rejected this request, stating, “However, the request cannot be acceded to, hence rejected.”
On October 21 last year, the High Court gave a clean chit to two former municipal commissioners in connection with the illegal operation of the TRP Game Zone.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, stated that the file never reached the municipal commissioners at any point during the approval process.
The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 114 (Abettor present when offence is committed).
Also Read: MSU Student From Bangladesh Dies By Suicide, Friends Cite ‘Academic Pressure’