Karachi factory fire: Court rejects bail plea of two factory owners

Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila arrested by police in Karachi.

KARACHI: After a court in Karachi rejected bail pleas of Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila - owners of the factory which caught fire and took more than 250 lives – they were arrested by police on Saturday night, Express News reported.

However, the court approved the bail of their father, Abdul Aziz Bhaila.

SSP Investigation Saqib Sultan confirmed the court’s short order and said both brothers would be arrested as soon as they exited the courtroom.

The fire that broke out on September 11 claimed the lives of 258 workers in one of Pakistan’s worst industrial incidents.

Earlier, the interim challan submitted to the court about the fire at Ali Enterprises revealed that the factory gates were closed on orders of the owners and the general manager when the fire broke out.

The main suspect in the case who had the factory keys, Shah Rukh, is still a fugitive while the factory owners, Abdul Aziz Bhaila and his sons Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila, had been granted bail by the Rawalpindi High Court.