A court in Karachi has issued arrest warrants of Korangi deputy commissioner, administrator, and other officials in the Mehran Town Factory fire case, Aaj News reported on Thursday.
During proceedings of the case, the court said that the government departments have committed criminal negligence in the case, and directed the police to arrest the suspects.
The accused include DC Korangi, deputy director environmental, K-Electric general manager, KE head of new connections, KDA Executive Engineer Zahid Hussain, Civil Defense Director Safdar Ali, and In-charge Fire Brigade Ishtiaq Ahmed.
The court also ordered that the name of the labour department officer should be removed from the list of the people accused of criminal negligence.
The court observed that the labour department had issued a notice to the factory while a case against the factory owners had already been filed in the labour court.
The court observed that if the relevant departments had fulfilled their responsibility then such incidents would not occur.
The incident
In August, at least 17 labourers, including 5 belonging to one family, died after a chemical factory in Karachi's Korangi area caught fire.
Case registered against Mehran Town factory owner, officials after blaze kills 17
Investigation revealed that more than 20 laborers were inside the compound when a highly flammable chemical caught fire which spread to the entire building.
Rescue officials reportedly faced difficulties due to smoke, while they tried to break the factory walls to retrieve the labourers inside. Reports also suggested fire rescue services reached the site after a delayed response time. However, the fire brigade teams faced difficulties in the rescue operation because of the narrow lanes leading to the factory. The police helped clear the area.
At least 17 killed in Karachi chemical factory blaze
After the incident, the Korangi Industrial Area police station registered an FIR, nominating the building owner, Tariq Faisal, factory owner, Ali Hassan Mehta, factory manager, Imran Zaidi, two supervisors, Zafar and Rehan, and the watchman, Syed Zarin.
The case was registered under Sections 34 and Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Findings of the report
The police found that the factory owner, Ali Hassan Mehta, holds dual nationality of Pakistan and the United Kingdom (UK). The report transpired that the 600-yard plot on which the factory was built was allotted to a man named Tariq Faisal.
The factory was operational on a plot listed as a residential site. Besides, as reported by the labour department and the SECP, the factory was not registered with either of the two authorities nor were its workers and employees provided any training.
Mehta had rented the premises for Rs300,000 per month from Faisal, it stated.
It said that the building had a single entry and exit point and there was no emergency exit. When the fire broke out, workers trapped inside the factory ran up to the roof to save themselves but found the gate at the stairs locked.
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