Daily Times

KARACHI: The police on Thursday formed two teams to investigate the reasons behind and the damage caused by the fire which erupted in the store room of Karachi City Courts Complex on Wednesday.

Multiple explosions were heard in the court’s evidence room, which usually houses items – including explosives – recovered from arrested suspects, as the fire spread outwards, prompting a call to the bomb disposal squad.

Deputy Inspector General of Police South Azad Khan will head one team, comprising Senior Superintendent Police South, SP City and members of special branch and forensics. The team will be responsible for ascertaining the cause of the fire.

The other team, which will be headed by DIG East Sultan Ali Khawaja, will determine the damaged caused by the fire and what evidence was burnt.

Moreover, the Judicial Magistrate VII also summoned 15 guards posted at the complex to record their statements before the court. The blaze, which erupted on Wednesday, was doused after four hours with the help of 14 fire vehicles. After extinguishing the fire, the fire brigade officials handed over the affected storeroom to the police authorities.

Post the cooling process, the bomb disposal squad was called for an inspection of the site on Wednesday as the authorities suspected presence of explosives underneath the rubble.

The storeroom clearance process was handed over to three teams of Pakistan Army, Sindh Rangers and the police. As many as 10 policemen were deployed to guard the storeroom.

Published in Daily Times, April 13^th 2018.