Baldia factory fire: SHC snubs forensics chief over failure to identify bodies

The laboratory has failed to ascertain identity of victims even after passage of two years

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) judges reprimanded the project director of the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL) over his failure to determine the identity of the factory workers, who had perished in the Baldia Factory inferno in September 2012.

Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, who headed the bench on Friday, gave one month's time to the laboratory's project director to submit reports on DNA samples.

The bench was hearing a contempt application filed by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research over failure of the various departments and agencies to compensate the victims' families.

On the last date of hearing, the judges had directed the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) chairperson to make sure that statutory compensation was paid to the family of each deceased worker.

They were informed on Friday that the court's directive has not yet been complied with.

Taking notice of such behaviour, the two judges ordered the EOBI chairperson to ensure payment of statutory pension to the families of all 259 workers at the earliest and submit a compliance report by October 28.

The court also issued notices to the secretary of the workers welfare and human resource departments to personally appear on October 28 and explain the status of payment of monetary compensation to the families of the victims as well as the survivors.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2014.