Comeback after controversy: It’s business as usual for officials after Rajkot fire tragedy

In a move that undermines the tragedy and the lost lives of Rajkot fire incident, after the former police commissioner of Rajkot getting a posting elsewhere, the former municipal commissioner has also found a spot for himself in the bureaucracy.

Anand Patel of IAS 2010 batch, the former municipal commissioner of Rajkot who was transferred and awaiting a posting after TRP Gamezone fire in Rajkot that took 27 lives, has been appointed in Gujarat Secretariat.

Patel has been appointed as an Additional Secretary in the budget branch of the Finance Department.

Bhavya Verma, who was handling the post on an additional charge, had been relieved from it.

With this, Patel has found himself posted in the Secretariat after 97 days of the Rajkot tragedy. With both former police commissioner and municipal commissioner getting back to office, it seems that the comeback of the controversial officials has officially begun.

Rajkot gamezone fire

On May 25, a massive fire broke out at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot’s Nana Mava area today, reportedly killing 27 people, including children.

Following the tragedy, Raju Bhargav, Commissioner of Police, Rajkot City; Vidhi Choudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police for Administration, Traffic and Crime, Rajkot City; Sudhir Desai, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-2, Rajkot City, and Anand Patel, the Municipal Commissioner at that time, were transferred and kept on waitlist for posting.

Also read:

Gujarat ACB arrests Rajkot Fire Officer over bribe charges

Rajkot fire tragedy: Fact-finding committee presents report in Gujarat High Court