Rajkot game zone fire: Court remands three accused in police custody for 14 days
Rajkot (PTI): A court in Gujarat's Rajkot city Monday sent three men arrested in connection with the game zone fire that claimed 27 lives to 14-day police remand.
The court of additional judicial magistrate BP Thakar remanded Yuvrajsinh Solanki, Nitin Jain and Rahul Rathod in police custody for two weeks, special public prosecutor Tushar Gokani said.
“The main ground for 14-day remand was that the arrested accused persons are not cooperating with the investigation, they are giving evasive replies to whatever questions are asked and whatever documents are sought from them," Gokani said.
The prosecution also told the court that the main accused in the case are still on the run.
Gokani said that 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, he said.
“We told the court that the main accused are on the run, and these accused persons make evasive replies and are not cooperating with the investigating agencies,” Gokani said.
He said that accused Solanki tried to put up an act in his bid to express before the court that he was filled with remorse for whatever happened.
“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.
An FIR was registered against six partners of the TRP game zone on charges of culpable homicide after a blaze there killed 27 persons, including children, on May 25. The police have arrested three persons, including two named in the FIR. The name of the third person cropped up during during investigation.
Two partners in Raceway Enterprise, which operated the TRP game zone, Yuvrajsinh Solanki and Rahul Rathod, and the manager of the recreation centre, Nitin Jain, are now in police custody.
The six accused – proprietor of Dhaval Corporation Dhaval Thakkar, as well as partners of Raceway Enterprises Ashoksinh Jadeja, Kiritsinh Jadeja, Prakashchand Hiran, Yuvrajsinh Solanki, and Rahul Rathod – had partnered to run the game zone where the fire occurred.
They 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 offence is committed).
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Flagrant injustice to underprivileged: Mehbooba on govt action against Shopian school
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian an unlawful entity under the UAPA was a "flagrant injustice" to the underprivileged sections of society.
She also alleged that banning such "altruistic institutions" without any solid evidence of anti-national activity "shows a deep seated prejudice and ill intention".
The institution allegedly run by individuals affiliated with a banned organisation has been declared an "unlawful entity" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a post on X, Mehbooba said, "Every single day the j&k government acts as a mute bystander & a timid enabler of vicious assaults on J&Ks identity & dignity. Declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom as an unlawful entity under UAPA is a flagrant injustice to the poor underprivileged sections of society".
The former chief minister said the institution served as a "beacon of quality education" for students unable to afford expensive schooling.
"It has produced reputed doctors and professionals who served this nation with dedication. Banning these altruistic institutions without any solid evidence of anti national activity shows a deep seated prejudice & ill intention," she added.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg issued a two-page order based on the dossier presented by Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian pointing towards the alleged illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Sirajul Uloom at Imam Sahib in Shopian district in south Kashmir.
According to the order issued by Garg on April 24, there were "credible inputs and evidence on record, to indicate sustained and covert linkages of the institution with Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Government of India banned in 2019.
