KE, fire brigade, builder and mall’s management nominated in state’s FIR of blaze

An FIR against the K-Electric (KE), fire brigade and other civic authorities was registered on Sunday regarding Saturday’s tragic fire incident at the RJ Shopping Mall on Rashid Minhas Road that resulted in 11 deaths.

The FIR involved the charges of manslaughter and negligence. According to the FIR, the fire likely erupted because of a short circuit and there were no fire extinguishing tools or emergency exits in the building.

The building's plan was also approved in an illegal manner, the FIR read. It stated that faulty material was used in the construction of the building, and despite that the KE and fire brigade issued a no-objection certificate (NOC), due to which they committed criminal negligence.

The FIR, which was numbered 1092/23, was registered under sections 322, 436, 427, 288, 285 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Sharea Faisal police station on the complaint of Sub-inspector Sardaruddin Mirani.

The case was registered against those involved in constructing the shopping mall, approving the map despite incomplete material, the existing management of the shopping mall, and the responsible power supply and fire brigade authorities for not fulfilling their responsibilities.

According to the FIR, the fire broke out in the mall at 5am, engulfing the entire six-storey building in flames. People trapped in the building used stairs and electric lifts to escape to save their lives.

Due to the heat of the fire, people in the mall were jolted. The injured were transferred to various hospitals through ambulances, and severely injured individuals lost their lives during treatment.

There were no safety tools or emergency exits in the building to extinguish the fire, the FIR read. It stated that the investigation would reveal who approved the map of the shopping mall and how the clearance for fire safety was given.

In the tragic blaze, 11 citizens lost their lives and six others were injured. The deceased persons, according to the FIR, included Aresh, 22, son of Pardeep; Salman, son of Mehboob; Younus, 43, son of Yousuf; Kashif Anis, son of Anis Ahmed; Karim Bukhs, son of Razi Rind; Bilal Asif, 26, son of Asif; Asad, 26, son of Yaqoob; Wahajuddin, son of Rahimuddin; Shahzaib Baig, son of Zahid Baig; Asad Khan, son of Sadiq; and another person who is yet to be identified.

The injured persons include Imran, son of Aslam, Junaid, Abdul Waheed, Abdul Qayyum and Atif.

The investigation team formed by Karachi Additional IG Khadim Hussain Rind also visited the building and collected evidence. Earlier on Saturday, the crime scene unit also visited the building to collect evidence.

The investigation team is led by East DIG Ghulam Azfar Mahesar and includes East SSP Irfan Bahadur and Gulshan SP Ayaz Hussain.

Talking to the media, the DIG stated that the FIR had been registered on the complaint of the state. He asserted that if any person or department had given illegal permission, action would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayers for the victims who lost their lives in the blaze were offered on Sunday in different parts of the city. The funeral prayers for Shahzaib were offered at Bilal Masjid in the Liaquatabad area. A large number of relatives, friends and local residents attended the prayers.

Shahzaib was a software engineer who was going to be married next month. His sudden demise brought immense grief to his family.

He had opened a software house in the mall, said his uncle Tanvir. He added that Shahzaib was the younger of two brothers and his elder brother resided in Dubai. “After playing a night cricket match with friends outside the house, he left for the office at around 4am, and the family heard about the fire at his office’s building in the morning.” The family then identified his body at the morgue.

The authorities have sealed the building and all the shops and offices have been closed. Shopkeepers of the building expressed concern over the indefinite closure of the building stating that this would affect their livelihoods.

They requested the authorities to allow them to open their shops as they could not afford having their business closed during challenging economic times.