During a recent hearing at the Karachi City Court, the prosecution officially rejected and returned the police’s investigative report (challan) regarding the Gul Plaza tragedy for the second time, citing severe deficiencies and a highly incomplete investigation. Despite explicit instructions given in the past, the police failed to rectify previously highlighted loopholes in their new report, prompting the DIG South Karachi to call an emergency meeting to review the critical situation.
The prosecution exposed massive oversight in the investigation, pointing out that the official Judicial Commission report was completely missing from the submitted challan. Furthermore, the probe failed to address critical safety violations, such as why the building’s emergency exits were locked, who blocked the escape pathways, and how single shop spaces were illegally subdivided into multiple units. The prosecution also strongly objected to the fact that relevant regulatory authorities, including the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), and the Fire Brigade, were entirely excluded from the investigation process.
In its brief four-page report, the police held six individuals responsible for the tragedy and listed over sixty witnesses. The nominated suspects include market union officials Tanveer Pasta (President), Ammar Ismail (Vice President), Amin (General Secretary), and Muhammad Ramadan (Joint Secretary), alongside Naimatullah, the owner of the shop where the fire initially broke out. In a startling revelation, the accused also include an 11-year-old child named Huzaifa, who, along with three other witnesses, has already recorded a formal statement in court confessing to playing with matchsticks at the scene of the incident.
