Two days after the fire incident at a game zone in Gujarat's Rajkot that claimed 28 lives, the police have made another arrest in connection with the case. So far, four men have been arrested, of which three have been sent to police custody for two weeks.
The Rajkot police said it arrested the main accused Dhaval Thakkar, a resident of Abu Road on Monday. The other arrested are Yuvrajsinh Solanki, Nitin Jain and Rahul Rathod.
Dhaval Thakkar, the proprietor of Dhaval Corporation, had partnered with Raceway Enterprises's Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki, and Rahul Rathod to run the game zone.
Meanwhile, Special Public Prosecutor Tushar Gokani told the Gujarat court that the accused were giving 'evasive replies' to the investigating officials. Gokani told the court, while seeking the police custody of the accused, that the men were not cooperating with the investigating agencies.
"When asked about certain documents, the accused claimed they got burnt in the fire. The main ground for their remand is to seek their cooperation and elicit the truth," Gokani told the court.
He said that accused Solanki tried to put up an act before the court to fake remorse for the tragedy. "When he entered the court, he tried to project that he had remorse for the incident, and everyone felt that he was crying. After five minutes, he was laughing and arguing with the court," Gokani said.
"The accused said that 'these kinds of things happen,' which was taken in a serious note by the honourable court," said Gokani.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 337 (causing hurt by an act that endangers the life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to a person by doing an act that endangers their life or personal safety) and 114 (someone present when the offence is committed).
Following the incident, the Gujarat government ordered the suspension of seven officials, including two police inspectors and civic staff of Rajkot Municipal Corporation, for dereliction of duty.
