South DIG directs team to utilise all available resources to identify, apprehend those responsible for the incident
Rescue workers search amid the debris using excavators after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi. Photo: AFP
The Karachi police constituted a five-member special investigation team on Monday to probe the Gul Plaza tragedy and arrest those responsible for the incident.
According to a notification issued by South Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza, the special team will be headed by the City superintendent of police (SP) (investigation) and has been tasked with “all-out and diligent efforts to arrest the accused person(s) by utilising all available resources”.
The notification stated that the team includes the Garden sub-divisional police officer, Kharadar deputy SP (investigation), Nabi Bux station house officer, Garden Centralised Investigation Cell incharge (investigation) and the investigation officer of the case.
The search operation at Karachi’s fire-hit Gul Plaza building is nearing completion and the structure will be sealed after a final inspection, South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said earlier today, as the death toll rose to 73.
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Personnel from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation have begun sealing work at the site, digging pits around the building to install iron shuttering. Officials said the structure will also be enclosed with green plastic netting as part of the process.
Speaking to reporters, Khoso said the nine-day search operation would conclude after a final review by a survey team later today, after which the affected building would be sealed. He said the ground floor and mezzanine first floor of Gul Plaza had been fully cleared, while one section of the building remained to be searched.
Khoso said 79 people are still listed as missing. DNA samples have so far been collected from the families of 55 victims, while relatives of 13 individuals have been given until today to submit samples. Authorities will assume claims are incorrect if families fail to come forward, he added. Khoso said identification of 23 victims has been completed, including six identified on the first day, and noted that some families include multiple missing relatives.
The police had registered a criminal case over the fire on Saturday, citing negligence and lack of safety measures. A first information report (FIR) was registered under Sections 322, 337-H(I), 436 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code, according to police. The case was filed with the government as the complainant and the names of unknown persons, as the investigation report is yet to be completed.
The FIR states that severe negligence and carelessness were shown at Gul Plaza, where no safety measures were in place. It says the lights were switched off during the fire, creating difficulties for people inside the building, while several gates were found closed.
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Meanwhile, a technical investigation team formed by the Sindh government, comprising experts from NED University, inspected Gul Plaza. The team examined the structure of the building, particularly its pillars, to assess its safety.
The team is to submit a report to the Sindh government and the district administration, detailing how long the building can remain standing, whether it requires immediate demolition, or if only certain parts are unsafe.
A technical team from Lahore also visited Gul Plaza on Sunday to conduct investigations as the rescue operation entered its eighth day. Police and district administration officials accompanied the investigative team, which includes forensic experts, during inspections of various locations within the plaza.
