South DIG instructs the team to use all available resources to identify, apprehend those responsible for the incident
Rescue workers search through the debris using excavators after a massive fire at a mall in Karachi. Photo: AFP
The Karachi Police on Monday constituted a five-member special investigation team to probe the Gul Plaza tragedy and arrest those responsible for the incident.
According to a release issued by South Deputy Superintendent of Police Syed Asad Raza, the special team will be headed by the city’s Superintendent of Police (SP) (Investigation) and has been tasked to “make all out and painstaking efforts to arrest the accused person(s) using all available resources”.
The notification stated that the team includes Garden sub-divisional police officer, Kharadar deputy SP (investigation), Nabi Bux station house officer, Garden Centralized Investigation Cell in-charge (investigation) and the investigating officer in the case.
The search operation at Karachi’s fire-stricken 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 of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation have started caulking work at the site and digging pits around the building to install iron damage. 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 end after a final sweep by an investigation team later today, after which the affected building would be sealed off. He said the ground floor and first floor mezzanine of Gul Plaza had been completely cleared, while part of the building still needed 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 people have so far been allowed to submit samples. Authorities will assume allegations are false if families fail to come forward, he added. Khoso said identification of 23 victims has been completed, including six identified on the first day, noting that some families include several missing relatives.
On Saturday, the police had filed a criminal case over the fire, citing negligence and a 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 complaints and the names of unknown persons as the investigation report is yet to be completed.
The FIR states that gross negligence and carelessness was shown at Gul Plaza where no safety measures were in place. It says lights were switched off during the fire, causing 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 building’s structure, particularly its columns, to assess its safety.
The team must submit a report to the Sindh government and the district administration detailing how long the building can stand, whether it requires immediate demolition or whether 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. Officials from the police and district administration accompanied the investigation team, which includes forensic experts, during inspections of various places in the square.
