Karachi shopping mall fire: Builders, KE named in ‘manslaughter’ FIR

KARACHI: The K-Electric (KE), builders and other departments were named in a first information report (FIR) registered after nearly a dozen people were killed in a massive fire inside RJ Shopping Mall at Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road the previous day, ARY News reported on Sunday.

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.

Today, the 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.

It stated that an inspection of the site revealed the six-storey building did not have an emergency exit or a fire alarm system, and it was suspected that the blaze erupted due to a short circuit.

The FIR added that after the fire broke out, people stuck inside the building tried to flee using stairs and lifts, resulting in suffocation.

Earlier in the day, the Karachi administration sealed the RJ shopping mall on Rashid Minhas Road.

Safety audit

Meanwhile, Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar ordered a safety audit of all commercial buildings, public spots and offices, saying fire eruption incidents were taking place because the inspection system had been abandoned in the city.

The CM directed the Sindh Building Control Authority, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Civil Defence, and deputy commissioners/assistant commissioners concerned to carry out safety audits of all public and commercial buildings, educational institutions, and government offices and submit their report along with recommendations.

Karachi, the country’s economic hub with a population of 20.3 million, is home to a vast network of factories and towering high-rises, but the city’s firefighting infrastructure is inadequate to deal with its frequent fires.

This past week, urban planners and engineers at a symposium said that about 90 percent of all structures in Karachi — residential, commercial and industrial — lacked fire prevention and firefighting systems.