South DIG orders the team to use all available resources to identify and arrest those responsible for the incident.
Rescuers search through rubble with excavators after a massive fire at a shopping mall in Karachi. Photo: AFP
Karachi Police on Monday constituted a five-member special investigation team to investigate the Gul Plaza tragedy and arrest those responsible for the incident.
According to a notification issued by Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Syed Asad Raza, the special team will be headed by city superintendent of police (SP) (investigation) and has been tasked with “all-out and diligent efforts to arrest the accused utilizing 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 case investigation officer.
The search operation at Karachi’s fire-hit Gul Plaza building is nearing completion and the structure will be sealed after a final inspection, South Deputy Commissioner Javed Nabi Khoso said today, as the death toll rose to 73.
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Karachi Metropolitan Corporation staff have started sealing the place, digging holes around the building to install iron shutters. 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 conclude after a final review by an investigation team later today, after which the affected building would be sealed. He said the ground floor and first mezzanine floor of Gul Plaza had been completely cleared, while a section of the building was yet to be searched.
Khoso said 79 people remain missing. So far DNA samples have been collected from the families of 55 victims, while the relatives of 13 people have been given until today to submit samples. Authorities will assume the claims are incorrect if families do not come forward, he added. Khoso said the identification of 23 victims has been completed, including six identified on the first day, noting that some families include several missing relatives.
Police opened a criminal case on Saturday into the fire, alleging negligence and lack of safety measures. According to the police, a first information report (FIR) was registered under sections 322, 337-H (I), 436 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The case was submitted to the government as a complainant and the names of unknown persons as the investigation report has not yet been completed.
The FIR claims that gross negligence and carelessness was demonstrated at Gul Plaza, where no safety measures were implemented. The lights went out during the fire, causing difficulties for people inside the building, while several doors 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 structure of the building, particularly its pillars, to assess its safety.
The team will have to submit a report to the Sindh government and the district administration, detailing how long the building can remain standing, 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. Police and district administration officials accompanied the investigation team, which includes forensic experts, during inspections of various locations within the square.
