Seven years on, Baldia factory fire victims still searching for justice

KARACHI: With the march of time, the families of the people, who perished in deadly Baldia factory inferno, may have come to terms with the loss of their loved ones, but they still await justice to give them a sense of closure.

At least 260 workers were burnt alive when the ill-fated multistorey garment factory was set ablaze in the city’s Baldia Town on Sept 11, 2012.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Rauf Siddiqui, then MQM sector in-charge Abdul Rahman alias Bhola, Zubair alias Chariya, had been charged with allegedly setting fire to the factory with the help of its four gatekeepers – Shahrukh, Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad.

According to the prosecution, the accused set ablaze the industrial unit on the instruction of the then head of the MQM’s Karachi Tanzeemi Committee (KTC) Hammad Siddiqui after its owners failed to pay protection money.

The trial court had indicted the accused who pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges.

Two accused persons – Bhola and Chariya – are in jail while seven accused persons, including Rauf Siddiqui, are out on bail. Whereas, Hammad Siddiqui, who is believed to be out of the country, had been declared proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the trial proceedings in the case.

Initially, owner of the factory Abdul Aziz Bhaila and his two sons – Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila – were arrested and charge-sheeted for their alleged negligence. But, the case took a new turn in February 2015, when the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh submitted a joint investigation team (JIT) report to the Sindh High Court, disclosing that the factory was set on fire over non-payment of extortion.

The startling revelation led to the re-investigation of the case in March 2015 by a JIT.

In a report, the JIT had informed the trial court in March 2016 that the factory fire was a planned arson attack and recommended registration of a case against Siddiqui, Bhola, Chariya, and others under anti-terrorism law.

The prosecution has listed 674 witnesses, including private persons, legal heirs and survivors, in the case, but so far, 109 witnesses have recorded their depositions as of Sept 11, according to reports.