Kin of victims meet CM, demand monitored trial, more compensation

In their memorandum, the relatives sought that the ongoing probe be monitored by a committee comprising two retired Supreme Court judges, one retired Gujarat High Court chief justice, two retired HC judges, and a woman city civil judge.

Further, they demanded that any two of three IPS officers – Sudha Pandey, Nirlipt Rai, and Sujata Majmudar – be made members of the Special Investigation Team appointed by the state government to probe the blaze. The trial should be completed within six months, the memorandum stated.

The memorandum also demanded a CBI inquiry against sitting and former corporators, local MLAs, the mayor, the standing committee chairman and concerned IAS and IPS officers to find out who among them was responsible for letting the game zone operate in violation of several regulations.

The fire had claimed 27 lives on May 25. The game zone was being run without the mandatory no-objection certificate of the fire department.

The lawyer of the relatives, Narendrasinh Jadeja, who led the delegation, told mediapersons: “In the past, the Supreme Court had ordered a compensation of Rs 50 lakh in such cases. Hence, we want the government to attach the properties of all the corrupt officials involved in the case and give a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the kin of each victim.”

The CM and Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, who was also present on the occasion, have assured that necessary action was being taken to prevent such tragedies in future, he added.

Tushar Ghorecha, elder brother of Jayant Ghorecha, who died in the fire, said, “We met the CM and Harsh Sanghavi today. They have assured that no one will be spared… If our demands are not met then we will launch an agitation.”