KARACHI: Owners of the ill-fated factory in Baldia Town claimed on Monday that their employees were being harassed and added that they wanted to resolve the case immediately but were not being allowed to visit the factory, Express News reported.
Appearing in front of a judicial tribunal at the Sindh Secretariat, owners Shahid Bhaila and Arshad Bhaila said that the factory as well as its records are in the custody of investigative agencies.
The owners were recording their statements in front of the tribunal headed by Justice (retd) Zahid Qurban Alavi.
The owners said that they had no information about any chemical which allegedly caused the fire and added that eight of the factory workers are in police custody.
They further dispelled rumors that it was not pay-day when the factory caught fire.
Owners’ lawyer told the tribunal that his clients were not being given any protection from the authorities.
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That factory was burnt along with 300 innocent people for extortion money of 10 crores not paid by the factory owners. So a lesson was supposed to be taught to them. Irony is that doors were locked by the terrorists of "Bhatta Mafia" to make sure enough damage is done. Owners reached the crime scene and tried to unlock the doors but some higher government official called them to stay away from the scene if they want to live longer. Sindh government wont do anything in the name of "reconciliation" and police due to political pressure.
Earlier there was a report in a newspaper that these factory owners were being harassed for non-payment of 'bhatta'. I wonder if there is any truth behind this allegation? If there is, then the cause for the fire may have 'other' reasons, which the current administration will then obviously choose to suppress.
Nevertheless, if that does turn out to be the case, it is still no excuse for locking all the exits and barring all the windows. These acts by themselves reveal the owners to be criminally callous when it came to safeguarding the safety and welfare of their employees.
These guys have some guts to say this all. A factory working on such a large scale and having registered numbrr of employees less than the number that burnt there. They owned it. Completely lacking fire safety and regulation issues, and yet they have the gall to say things like this. You run a textile business and have no knowledge of what chemicals are present on the premises? I am sure this statement will make sense to the CJ only..
To me, the whole tragic saga seems to be bhatta-related. There is something wrong with this incident. There are even rumors that "someone" locked the workers in when the fire broke out which actually caused so many casualties as a result.