Officer given two days to justify guards’ arrest

Police had arrested two security guards for their alleged involvement in the fire.


Rizwan Shehzad November 27, 2012

KARACHI: A district and sessions court hearing the Baldia factory fire case has directed the investigating officer to bring witnesses and provide proof within two days justifying the arrest of two security guards of the factory.

The police had arrested two guards, Ali Muhammad and Fazal Mehmood, on their alleged involvement in the factory fire which claimed over 250 lives in September this year.

The guards’ lawyer, Muhammad Tamim Khan, urged the court to release the suspects on bail as the police have not produced any evidence against them since their arrest and kept them behind bars for no reason.

Putting off the hearing until November 29, the fifth additional district and sessions judge (West), Abdullah Channah, ordered the prosecutor and investigating officer, Jahanzaib Khan, to provide evidence against the suspects within two days.

The Guards

Meanwhile, three of the four government officials, who have been included in the judicial inquiry, appeared before the second judicial magistrate west, Sohail Ahmed Mashori, and submitted their bail before arrest papers.

The government officials had obtained interim bail from Abdullah Channah after the judicial magistrate had ordered to include labour director, Zahid Qurban Shaikh, SITE managing director, Rashid Ahmed Solangi, civil defence additional controller, Ghulam Akbar, and Karachi Region-II electric inspector, Amjad Ali, in the trial as the incident had taken place due their negligence. The judge adjourned the hearing to December 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2012.

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