Stampede deaths: court rejects factory owner’s bail plea

Decision after submission of challan

KARACHI:

The additional district and sessions judge West dismissed on Friday the bail application of the factory owner and others in the case of a deadly stampede during Zakat distribution at a factory last week. Twelve people, mostly women and children, were killed and 10 were injured in the stampede.

Factory owner Abdul Khaliq's lawyer told the court that his client was giving cash to the relatives of employees of the factory who had died in the recent past. He said this was an annual practice.

This time, however, people tried to force their way into the factory.

He said the deaths were due to an accident and urged the court to dismiss the case against the factory owner.

He said that the factory owner was not present at the time of stampede.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor argued that a case was registered against the accused under the provisions governing negligence and recklessness. The accused had not alerted the police or the civil administration about their plan. The incident took place due to the carelessness of the accused.

In its remarks, the court said that bail cannot be approved in the initial phase of the case.

Illegal construction

The Sindh High Court turned out several petitions pertaining to illegal construction and encroachment while noting that such concerns should be raised at the relevant fora.

The court stated that complainant's first port of call should be the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in matters of unauthorised buildings.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2023.