Baldia factory owners declared innocent,to now testify as witnesses

Karachi

Nominated in the Baldia Town factory fire case as co-accused, owners and a few employees of the ill-fated Ali Enterprises were instead included in the case as witnesses after an anti-terrorism court (ATC) declared them innocent.

According to Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Sajid Mehboob, name of another MQM activist, Zubair alias Zubair Charia, was also deleted since the investigators could not find any proof of his involvement.

The biggest industrial tragedy to ever have occurred in the county after over 250 workers perished in the fire, the accident was termed a ‘planned terrorist activity’ and not an accident in a supplementary charge-sheet.

The charge-sheet maintained that Rs200m were demanded from the factory owners as ‘protection money’ on failing to pay which the factory was set on fire.

Some six accused including Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) suspended Karachi Tanzeemi Committee (KTC) chief Hammad Siddiqui along with the party’s Baldia Town sector in-charge at the time, Abdul Rehman Bhola, were declared absconders in the case.

Comprising charges of burning to death around 250 workers, the charge-sheet was submitted in the court of Judicial Magistrate (West); it also suggested trying the accused under Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

In the case of several other suspects nominated in the case the court was informed that investigators could not find sufficient evidence with respect to their involvement.

In initial investigation, the police had charge-sheeted the owners and some employees of the factory in the tragic incident.

However, as per the second investigation the JIT submitted in the Sindh High Court (SHC), on February 15, 2015, that the factory was set on fire after its owners could not pay ‘protection money’ to extortionists.

The police then submitted a progress report in March maintaining that the factory fire was a planned terrorist activity, while the JIT recommended registering a new case. In addition to Siddiqui and Bhola, Hyderabad-based businessmen brothers, Ali Hasan Qadri and Umer Hasan Qadri, and another Dr Abdul Sattar were added to the list.

In reference to the JIT report, the charge-sheet maintained that Hammad had through Rehman Bhola approached the factory owners to pay protection money worth Rs250 million and make them partners in the country, but the owners could only offer Rs10 million which the alleged extortionists did not accept and set the factory on fire “to teach the owners a lesson”. According to the public prosecutor the magistrate concerned would submit the same charge-sheet in the sessions court concerned. The case would then be referred to an ATC. A list of 58 prosecution witnesses was also attached to the charge-sheet.

Apart from other relevant laws, the case included sections 302, 324, 337, 384, 385, 386 and 435, 436, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code which deal with murder, attempt to murder, mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage.