Key suspects nabbed in Karachi shopping mall fire case

KARACHI: In a major progress, the police on Wednesday arrested five key suspects allegedly responsible for the fire that erupted inside RJ Shopping Mall at Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road, which killed nearly a dozen people, ARY News reported.

According to details, the east zone police have arrested five key suspects – which include Imran Adnan (owner of the software house), Sultan and Faizan (part of mall’s administration) and Abid Shah (security in-charge).

Sources told ARY News that the arrested suspects are allegedly responsible for the fire while further investigation was underway.

At least 11 people died while five others sustained burn injuries after a fire erupted inside the RJ Shopping Mall a day earlier because of a suspected short circuit, as per the officials.

The fire began on the fourth floor and later engulfed other floors. The officials claimed that the deaths occurred because the building had no ventilation.

A first information report (FIR) was registered at Sharae Faisal Police Station by Sub Inspector Sadaruddin Mirani.

It invoked Sections 322 (manslaughter), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The FIR was registered against the shopping mall’s builders, those who approved the map of the building, those who issued the no-objection certificate (NOC), the incumbent management of the shopping mall, K-Electric and the relevant fire station for failing to fulfil their duties.

Preliminary report

A preliminary report prepared by the Fire Brigade Department has stated that there was “no kind of public safety system” in place at the RJ shopping mall in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area.

According to the report, emergency exit doors, exit signs, existing preventive mechanisms and emergency lighting or power backup were “not available” in the ill-fated building.

“No kind of public safety system was available in RJ Mall, including fire safety/fighting equipment and emergency exits,” the report said.

It added that the department did not receive timely information about the fire and the third and fourth floors were “burning severely” when the fire brigade reached the scene. It said that staff faced difficulty in firefighting operations due to the “intense smoke”, adding that the fire’s cause could not be determined.

The report said that the employees of the offices located in the building were rescued by smashing through doors, adding that all 11 deaths occurred due to “smoke inhalation and suffocation”.