3 of 20 students dead in Surat fire clear Class 12 Board exams

Surat, May 25

Three of the 20 students who died in a massive blaze at a commercial complex in Sarthana in Gujarat’s Surat on Friday had appeared for the Class 12 Board exams and had cleared them comfortably, as per results that were declared on Saturday.

Among the dead, 16 are girls, the youngest being 15 years of age and the eldest just 22, said the police.

A child between 3-4 years old received burn injuries in the incident and is currently hospitalised, said Surat police spokesperson P L Chaudhari.

Police said Bhargav Bhutani, who was running the coaching class on the third floor of the ill-fated Takshshila Complex, has been arrested on Saturday.

Three of the deceased, Yashi Kevadiya, Mansi Varsani and Hasti Surani, had appeared for the Class 12 exams of the Gujarat Board, the results of which were declared on Saturday.

“While Yashvi passed the exam with 67.75 percentile (C1 grade), Mansi received 52.03 percentile (C1 grade) and Hasti passed the exam with 69.39 percentile (B2 grade),” he said.

“The youngest victim was 15-year-old Isha Kakadiya while the oldest was 22-year-old Grishma Gajera. Majority of the victims were in the age bracket of 17 to 18. They all were students of a coaching institute imparting art and craft training,” an official said.

“While a majority of them were charred to death in the fire, two to three have died as they jumped off from the third and fourth floor of the building to escape the fire,” he added.

Earlier on Saturday morning, Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma said police have arrested the owner of the Surat coaching centre, and two more persons, both builders, are currently absconding.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani Friday ordered a fire safety audit of schools, colleges and coaching centres following the deadly incident. PTI