Who did it?: Explosion on city court premises

KARACHI:

A minor explosion on the city court's premises on Thursday noon raised question on the authorities responsible for maintaining the court's departments and their security.

The blast occurred outside the maal khana, which houses prosecution-related material such as narcotics, weapons and explosives. It took place at around 2pm when staff members were clearing the premises. Fortunately, no casualty or loss was reported.

"The explosion occurred when a bottle containing some chemical blew off," said City Court SHO Shoaib, whose office is about three feet away from the blast site. "The bottle might have been placed outside accidently as a cleanliness drive was underway."

He, however, denied that the maal khana stored any kind of explosive material. He said that the Pakistan Army personnel took away all the case properties related to Explosives Substances Act such as hand grenades and rocket propellers seized from criminals.

On the other hand, Karachi Bar Association president Naeem Qureshi told The Express Tribune that there was a large quantity of explosives still lying there.

According to Qureshi, the maal khana should be shifted to the police's Garden headquarters.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2015.