ATC grants Rauf Siddiqui pre-arrest bail

Key suspect in the case, had recorded his confessional statement that he, along with others, set the factory on fire

KARACHI: The anti-terrorism court (ATC) granted on Saturday interim pre-arrest bail to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui in Baldia factory fire case.

The MPA had filed an application seeking grant of pre-arrest bail. His  lawyer informed the court that the recently arrested Abdul Rehman alias Bhola had malafidely named the applicant in his confession for allegedly registering a case against the factory owners. The applicant was neither nominated in the FIR nor in the charge sheets, contended the lawyer.

Since the detained suspect named the MPA on the basis of hearsay, the applicant is ready to join the investigation, but he seeks bail before arrest, the lawyer pleaded to the court. After a preliminary hearing, the judge granted him pre-arrest bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000 till January 12.

Rehman, who is a former MQM sector incharge and a key suspect in the case, had recorded his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate on Dec 22, admitting that he, along with other accomplices, set the factory on fire. He claimed that they did this on the instructions of the then chief of the MQM's organising committee Hammad Siddiqui, because the factory owners had refused to pay the demanded protection money.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2017.