Official apathy: Case lingers on as prosecutor yet to be appointed in Baldia factory fire case

Hundreds of workers were burnt alive while on duty three years ago.

KARACHI: Amid changing investigations, chilling revelations and apathy on the part of the government, the Baldia factory fire case is making little headway. Three years have passed since the deadly fire claimed the lives of hundreds of labourers, yet the authorities seem to have little interest in prosecuting the case.

Hearing the case on Friday after a 21-day gap, the West district's additional sessions judge, Naushaba Kazi, expressed displeasure over the vacant place of the state's counsel and observed that if the authorities did not assign a lawyer by the next hearing, the court will formally approach them again.

Four months on, the government has yet to task an attorney to pursue the case since the resignation of special public prosecutor Shazia Hanjrah. Hanjrah, a high court lawyer, had detached herself from the case following the unearthing of a stark joint investigation team's (JIT) report that had changed its trajectory.

The JIT report, submitted by the Rangers to the Sindh High Court, had quoted an under-trail prisoner, Rizwan Qureshi, as saying that the fire was caused by some members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) over non-payment of extortion money. The case is just a stage behind the indictment process and will not reach it until all court formalities are completed.

Meanwhile, the court issued notice to the newly-appointed investigation officer of the case, SP Sajid Sadozai, as he failed to appear for the hearing for the second consecutive time. Since the time he was tasked the case in mid-April, Sadozai has appeared before the court just once to inform that he was the other investigating officer of the case and could not give any time frame for the completion of his assignment.

The female judge, Kazi, while issuing a summon for his appearance, also directed him to submit a report before the court regarding the whereabouts of an absconding suspect, Shahrukh. The suspect, an administrative official at the ill-fated garment factory, has been absconding since the incident occurred. However, his mother recently approached the court and submitted that her son was picked up by the Rangers and moved to an undisclosed location.

Only three low-profile accused, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Muhammad, who were gatekeepers at the factory, were presented during the hearing, while the main accused factory owners, Arshad Bhalia and Shahid Bhalia, submitted yet another condonation plea for their absence, which was approved by the court.

Another suspect, Abdul Aziz Bhalia, the father of the factory owners, has been given a complete exemption from appearing before the court during hearings due to his old age and health grounds. The hearing of the case has been adjourned until July 4.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2015.