Deadly arson : JIT to quiz Baldia factory fire suspect

KARACHI: The Sindh home department on Thursday constituted a joint interrogation team (JIT) to question one of the key suspects in the country’s deadliest industrial arson attack, the Baldia factory fire.

On the recommendation of the IGP Sindh, a JIT is formed for interrogating the arrested accused Abdul Rehman alias Bhola “in FIR No. 343/2012 under Sections 384/385/386/435436/302/324/337/34/109 PPC read with 6/7 ATA read with 512 CrPC of SITE B Section police station”, stated a home department notification.

District West Investigations SSP Akhtar Farooq would head the JIT while representatives of intelligence agencies as well as Rangers, Sindh police’s Special Branch and Counter-Terrorism Department are also on the JIT.

At least 259 workers were burnt alive when Ali Enterprise’s factory caught fire on September 11, 2012. The arrest of Rehman Bhola, a former in-charge of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Baldia sector, is seen as a major breakthrough in the case.

Bhola, who was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, was brought back to the country by a two-member team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a few days ago. The accused is now in the custody of the District West investigation police.

A senior police official privy to the development said that the JIT would start working as soon as its composition is complete, adding that the JIT would try to ascertain the accused’s role in the factory fire and motives as well as other suspects involved in the case, including former in-charge of MQM’s Karachi Tanzeemi Committee Hammad Siddiqui.

The JIT has been tasked to investigate the matter within seven days and submit its report within two days after the JIT completion.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2016.