KARACHI: The Karachi police on Monday constituted a special team to make “all-out efforts” to arrest suspects in the Gul Plaza fire and to conduct an impartial probe into the incident.
An order issued by the office of South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza stated that the five-member team was constituted for the “arrest of involved accused person(s) and impartial investigation” into the case.
“The investigation team shall make all-out and diligent efforts to arrest the accused person(s) by utilising all available resources,” read the notification, a copy of which is available with media.
In a first information report (FIR) of the incident, dated January 23, the Karachi police said the fire was an “outcome of negligence and carelessness”.
The case was registered against unknown persons as the police have not nominated anyone in the case.
The special team will comprise the Garden Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), the Kharadar investigation deputy superintendent of police (DSP), the head of the Garden Central Investigation Cell, the station house officer of Nabi Bux police station — where the FIR was registered — and an investigation officer of the case.
The team was allowed to co-opt any officer/official from the South Zone police if it wanted “help to solve the case”.
“Daily progress report shall be submitted to this office without fail,” DIG Raza ordered.
The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, has claimed at least 73 lives and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. Only 23 of the deceased have been identified so far.
After nine days of scouring through the rubble to locate remains of the dead and missing, the search operation concluded on Sunday, DIG Raza told media.
Subsequently, he added, Gul Plaza has been sealed.
Temporary restrictions on the M.A. Jinnah Road have been removed, and workers of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) were seen installing green construction mesh on the plaza.
Forensic experts from Lahore join probe: South DIG
A team of forensic experts from Lahore has joined the Karachi police to probe the Gul Plaza blaze, according to officials.
South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza confirmed that experts from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency visited the gutted shopping centre and collected samples.
However, he said that it was an “open secret” that the shopkeeper’s 11-year old son had a lit matchstick which triggered the fire. Investigators also recorded video statements of the shopkeeper, his son and another witness who saw the boy who lit the match.
Meanwhile, Rescue-1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told media that the search and rescue operation was completed, adding that the building had been handed back to the district administration.
The relevant experts would likely assess the structure of the building and subsequently, the building would be demolished, he added, expecting it to take place on Tuesday.
Khan said they had marked the gutted building with three different colours: green showing nothing was recovered from the spot, red showing recovery of bodies and yellow indicating the recovery of goods and valuables.
The rescue spokesperson explained that they would conduct a “final” search tonight on the insistence of shopkeepers and plaza management, as there were many shops in the basement which were intact or partially damaged.
Khan said valuables and goods would be removed and handed over to traders in the presence of district administration officials and plaza management tonight.
Inquiry committee to ‘consider all aspects’: CM Murad
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah asserted that whoever will be found responsible by the inquiry will be punished, noting that “more than 80 lives have been lost”.
“I will not take the name of anyone right now. Once the inquiry is over, it will come forward after that,” he said while speaking to the media.
“We have mistakes; I admit it,” the chief minister acknowledged, noting that even audits conducted in Islamabad were found unsatisfactory.
Asked about the possibility of the incident being a case of arson, the chief minister referred to the inquiry committee formed and stressed that it would “consider all aspects”.
The Sindh CM pointed out that anyone who had any “facts” to share could approach the committee. “If we are responsible, we will accept punishment.”
However, he cautioned that all those “saying such things will also be held accountable”.
Asked about the reported inadequate water supply during the rescue operation, the chief minister acknowledged, “We have fire brigades but they are not enough.”
Pinning the blame on “legacy issues” and “old laws”, Murad noted that multiple departments — the KMC, Rescue 1122, the Sindh Integrated Emergency & Health Services, and the Home Department (which conducts fire audits) — were all involved in the same matter.
The Sindh CM announced that all such departments will be merged and work was underway for the required legislation.
During his media talk, Murad recalled the compensation announced for those affected — Rs10 million for the families of each deceased person and Rs5m for each shop-occupant.
He further stated that with the help of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the Sindh government would compensate the financial losses suffered by the businesses, including the cost of their destroyed stock.
“Within a month, we’ll reimburse the shopkeepers for their inventory losses.
Responding to a question about the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) demand to make Karachi a part of the “federal territory”, the Sindh CM said it was not an appropriate time for such discussions in the wake of the tragic incident.
“We are ready for every debate, [but] I would not like to,” he said.
“I am not asking you not to talk about this tragedy or about bringing improvement. But do not go towards such discussions that have no logic,” the chief minister stressed.
Upon a reporter asking a question about the Sindh governor’s criticism of the provincial government, CM Murad reiterated that the media was encouraged to give constructive criticism about the incident but asked journalists “not to add fuel to the fire”.
He also warned there would be “no compromise” on the implementation of fire safety measures for the buildings under his audit plan. As part of its province-wide fire safety audit, the Sindh government has identified a total of 2,368 buildings across the province for the initial phase.
According to data presented in Sunday’s meeting, Sukkur tops the list with 898 buildings identified for the fire safety audit, Karachi has 562, Hyderabad has 540, Shaheed Benazirabad has 171, Larkana has 143, and Mirpurkhas has 54 buildings identified.
CM Murad declared, “An audit will be conducted of every [major] building, and we will start from the building which has more footfall.”
He said the implementation of this process has started, with 20 different “targets” given to the building owners.
The Sindh CM detailed that the targets included some “very necessary stuff that could be completed within a week”, such as installing alarms and portable fire extinguishers, clearing spaces so people know the exit, properly marking the exits, and having back-up lights in case of power failure.
The specifics of such requirements will be outlined on the day of the audit, the chief minister said.
CM Murad went on to add that buildings could be given some additional time if they completed “10 to 13” of the requirements within a week from the audit.
However, he warned, a building would be sealed if no work had been initiated after a week.
“There will be no compromise on that,” the chief minister said, seeking the cooperation of business chambers and associations.
“Finally, within six months, they will be required to complete fire safety and disaster safety measures,” he added.
Urging the owners of commercial buildings and industries, the Sindh CM asserted, “We all must resolve collectively that such an incident does not occur again.”
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