Police registers complaint against builder and tuition class owner after fire broke in a shopping complex in Surat

A day after the massive fire broke out in a shopping complex in Surat's Sarthana, police complaint has been registered against the builder and the tuition class owner for 'culpable homicide'.The builder is identified as Harsukh Vekaria, and tuition class owner as Bhargav Bhutani. The fire which broke out in the top half of the building has reportedly trapped a number of people in the building who were seen escaping the fire by jumping out of the windows. The source of the fire is unknown as of yet.

Police complaint also states that fire emergency rules were neglected. Moreover, the top two floors of the building were illegally constructed. The rooftop of the building was made as a makeshift top floor by covering parapet with plastic sheets (which aggravated the fire and left no room for evacuation either), sources said. 

READ: Fire breaks out in Surat shopping complex, many feared trapped, several jump from top floor: Live Updates here

Visuals of the fire on Friday showed several people jumping out of the building in a bid to escape the copious black-grey fumes emerging from the top half. Visuals from the scene show people supporting the individuals who are trying to climb out of windows from the fourth floor where the fire broke out. It is also seen that the billboards and hoardings of the floors below the top floor are supporting the jumping people. After a while, the board is seen to fall on the cars parked below. A huge crowd is seen gathered around the complex.

Reports have suggested that the top floor of the shopping complex housed a coaching class center for students who were reportedly seen jumping out of the windows. Rescue operations are still underway in a bid to save the trapped students and other shop owners and customers in nearby shops.

Expressing his deepest regret on the news, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the Gujarat government and local authorities to provide quick and necessary aid needed in the rescue operations.