Local court in Sindh extends Rizvia builder’s remand

SBCA, KE, KWSB officials to be investigated for building collapse

KARACHI: A local court extended on Saturday the physical remand of the builder of the five-storey building that collapsed in Rizvia Society on March 5, as well as that of others accused in the case, until March 16.

The Investigation Officer (IO) informed the court that the builder, Javed Khan, had nominated several other officials responsible for the negligence. Moreover, a letter has been dispatched to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) director-general to include these officials in the investigation.

Khan’s wife and sons have also been nominated in the case, while officials from SBCA, K-Electric and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board will be investigated as well.

The court granted the IO’s request to extend the physical remand of the accused.

At least 27 people were killed while several others were injured when the building collapsed.

Court grants Gabol bail

Separately, a local court approved the interim bail of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Nabil Gabol, who was arrested for barging into Fishermen Cooperative Society chairperson Hafeez Abdul Bar’s house and assaulting his servants.

Gabol informed the court that he had reconciled with Bar. The court approved his interim bail plea.

The case against Gabol was registered at Defence police station on behalf of Ghulam Shabbir, who works as a security guard at Bar’s house.

According to police, Shabbir had said in his statement that he was on duty as per routine on the night of March 1 when he heard someone beat on the gate around 10:30pm. He claimed that when he opened the gate, Gabol barged in with some other men and asked about Bar, saying that they had come to kill him.

According to Shabbir, Gabol snatched his repeater gun and fired twice in the air, whereas one of his companions slapped him. They then entered the rooms, vandalised the house and left after returning the gun.

In his clarification earlier, Gabol had said that his car had accidentally rammed into the gate of Bar’s house. “I had tried to stop my car but the brakes did not work,” he said, adding that he then took hold of the sleeping security guard’s gun, fearing that he might wake up and open fire on him. “I was unloading the gun when I accidentally fired it,” he said. He stressed that the CCTV footage showed that he returned the gun and later came to know that the house was owned by Lateef Khosa.

Earlier, a session court had accepted Gabol and the co-accused’s bail against surety of Rs100,000 each till March 14.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2020.