Shantytown resident confesses to torching his settlement

Suspect says he and his accomplices hoped to receive aid

KARACHI:

A suspect in the torching of a shanty settlement near Teen Hatti in Liaquatabad has reportedly confessed to the crime, saying the motive was to receive aid.

A video statement of suspect Fahad Javed has come to light. He also happens to be a resident of the burnt settlement.

The arrested suspect confessed that he and three other accomplices set the shanties ablaze. According to his confessional statement, .the suspect said that his fugitive accomplice, Sagar, had brought a can of lighter gas.

He continued that another fugitive accomplice, Kewal, had pointed out that a lot of aid was received during last winter's fire.

Sagar suggested putting the shanties on fire as winter had arrived and he anticipated that the settlers would be compensated once again. The arrested suspect disclosed that his accomplices were also residents of the shanties.

Javed said that after setting the shanties on fire, the culprits rushed outside and started screaming for help to avoid any loss of life.

The Supermarket police said that while one suspect was arrested, three accomplices managed to escape and efforts were underway to bring them to book.

According to SSP Central, the arrested and fugitive suspects had set fire to the shanties themselves to seek aid.

On the morning of November 20, a horrific fire mysteriously broke out in the shanties near Teen Hatti in the Liaquatabad area of Supermarket police. Dozens of huts and their contents were burnt to ashes.

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The fire was brought under control by more than 10 fire tenders after an hour of intense efforts. No one was killed or injured in the blaze.

Police had started an investigation into the incident which was declared mysterious.

On Sunday, the supermarket police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Fahad, son of Javed. In this regard, SSP Central Malik Murtaza Tabassum told The Express Tribune that the shanties were purposefully set on fire.

As per his confessional statement, the arrested suspect along with his three accomplices Kewal, Vijay and Sagar had set the shanties on fire. He further said that his three other accomplices of the suspect, involved in the incident, were on the run and raids were being carried out to arrest them.

The SSP Central said that the arrested and fugitive suspects had set the shanties on fire to seek aid. Last year, the shanties had caught fire and the residents had received a considerable amount of aid. He said that the case of arson has been registered in the supermarket police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2021.