Pakistan: Special police team formed to investigate deadly Gul Plaza fire

Karachi police have formed a special team to make allout efforts to apprehend those responsible for the Gul Plaza fire and to carry out an impartial investigation into the incident According to Dawn on Monday an order issued by South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza said the fivemember team was constituted for the arrest of involved accused persons and impartial investigation into the caseThe investigation team shall make allout and diligent efforts to arrest the accused persons by utilising all available resources the notification stated Police said in the first information report dated January 23 that the blaze was an outcome of negligence and carelessness adding that the case had been registered against unknown persons as no suspect had yet been nominatedThe team includes the Garden Subdivisional police officer Kharadar investigation deputy superintendent of police head of the Garden Central Investigation Cell the station house officer of Nabi Bux police station where the FIR was lodged and the investigation officer of the case The group has also been authorised to coopt any South Zone police official if it requires help to solve the case DIG Raza further directed that a Daily progress report shall be submitted to this office without failThe fire which broke out on the night of January 17 and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished has claimed at least 73 lives and destroyed more than 1100 shops with only 23 victims identified so far DIG Raza told Dawn that after nine days of searching through debris to locate remains of the dead and missing the operation concluded on Sunday following which Gul Plaza was sealed Temporary restrictions on MA Jinnah Road were lifted while Karachi Metropolitan Corporation workers were seen installing green construction mesh on the plazaA team of forensic experts from Lahore later joined the probe with Punjab Forensic Science Agency officials visiting the damaged shopping centre and collecting samples Dawn reported Rescue1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan said the search and rescue operation had been completed and the building handed back to the district administration He added that experts would assess the structure and the site was expected to be demolished on TuesdayHe said the building had been marked with three colours green where nothing was recovered red where bodies were found and yellow indicating the recovery of goods and valuables Khan added that a final search would be conducted at night at the request of shopkeepers and plaza management He said valuables would be removed and returned to traders in the presence of district officials and plaza representativesSindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said whoever is found responsible would 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 He acknowledged We have mistakes I admit it while pointing out that audits carried out in Islamabad were also unsatisfactoryOn whether the incident could be arson Murad said the inquiry committee would consider all aspects He urged anyone with facts to approach it and stated If we are responsible we will accept punishment while warning that those saying such things will also be held accountable Responding to reports of insufficient water during rescue efforts he said We have fire brigades but they are not enoughHe attributed gaps to legacy issues and old laws and noted that multiple departments were involved He announced these bodies would be merged with legislation underway Murad recalled compensation of PKR 10 million for each deceased persons family and PKR 5 million for each shop occupant He added that with support from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry business losses including destroyed stock would also be coveredWithin a month well reimburse the shopkeepers for their inventory losses Asked about MQMPs demand to declare Karachi a federal territory Murad said it was not the right time 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 logicAddressing criticism from the Sindh governor Murad encouraged constructive coverage while asking journalists not to add fuel to the fire He warned there would be no compromise on fire safety enforcement As part of a provincewide audit 2368 buildings have been identified for inspection with Sukkur topping the list at 898 followed by Karachi with 562 Hyderabad with 540 Shaheed Benazirabad with 171 Larkana with 143 and Mirpurkhas with 54 Dawn reportedMurad said An audit will be conducted of every major building and we will start from the building which has more footfall He added that owners had been given 20 targets including installing alarms and extinguishers clearing exits marking escape routes and arranging backup lighting Buildings completing 10 to 13 requirements within a week could be granted more time but those showing no progress would be sealedThere will be no compromise on that he said He added that full compliance would be required within six months Urging commercial building owners and industrialists to cooperate Murad said We all must resolve collectively that such an incident does not occur againThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever