Police sniff foul play in FTC building fire: sources

KARACHI: Police probing the incident of mysterious fire, that erupted in city’s FTC building two days ago, suspect it could be a foul play, ARY News reported.

According to police sources, the investigators are probing from different angles whether the fire was an accident or a mischief.

The blaze had erupted in the National Bank’s regional office at the sixth floor of the FTC building.

Read: Fire erupts in Karachi’s FTC building

Sources said it seemed as if somebody attempted to destroy the record, an important one. They said FTC building was equipped with modern fire extinguishers. “How this could be possible that the flames were not doused in time”, sources said.

The investigators are waiting for the report from the fire brigade department.

Sources in the investigation team said it was surprising to note the fire spread and engulfed the portion of the floor. “The fire dousing system installed in building is so efficient that it even controls the smoke within seconds.”

Sources said the records of loans taken by the Omni Group were also kept with the National bank of Pakistan. It may be noted that Omni Group is under probe over loans and transactions.

The court had ordered shifting the fake accounts case to Rawalpindi and subsequently it emerged that several important documents went missing during shifting of the case.

FTC fire

According to the fire department, the blaze that erupted on the sixth floor of the building at around 2am on Sunday night was brought under control after several hours of efforts. Two snorkels and 12 fire tenders took part in the firefighting operation, said chief fire officer Tehseen Ahmed Siddiqui.

Upon being informed of the fire incident, the fire brigade vehicles arrived at the site in no time, he said, adding the flames have been contained while the cooling process is underway.

Siddiqui said the cause of the fire couldn’t be ascertained immediately.