Daily Times

KARACHI: Police on Monday told an anti-terrorism court (ATC) that Abdul Rehman alias Bhola – the main accused in the Baldia factory fire case – had confessed to setting ablaze the garment factory on the orders of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Karachi Tanzeemi Committee in-charge.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Farooq Akhtar produced former Baldia Town sector in-charge Bhola before the judge and said that the suspect had confessed to carrying out the arson attack at the instance of Hammad Siddiqui.

Hammad had instructed Bhola and Zubair alias Charya to set the factory ablaze after its owners refused to pay ‘protection money’, the SP told the ATC-II judge while quoting the suspect. SP Farooq Akhtar told the court that the custody of Bhola was required for further interrogation, and requested it to extend his physical remand. On this, the ATC judge allowed the investigators to have custody of the accused arsonist for another 10 days for interrogation.

The judge once again issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of absconding MQM Karachi Tanzeemi Committee in-charge Hammad Siddiqui and directed the federal government to issue red warrants for his arrest through the Interpol.

Meanwhile, the judge rejected the bail application of suspect Zubair. It had earlier reserved its verdict on the bail plea after hearing arguments from the defence and the prosecution. The hearing of the case has been adjourned until Jan 12.

Bhola was arrested from Bangkok on December 3 by the Interpol and handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials for his extradition to Pakistan.

More than 250 factory workers were burnt alive in the arson attack in September 2012. The incident was earlier declared an accident, but reinvestigation into the incident in March last year by a joint investigation team (JIT) revealed that the factory was set on fire after its owners failed to pay extortion money.

The JIT had alleged that former MQM Karachi Tanzeemi Committee chief Hammad Siddiqui, his frontman and then Baldia Town sector in-charge Bhola and four unidentified persons were behind the plot of setting the factory on fire.

It nominated 13 suspects, including the factory’s owners, gatekeepers and some other employees, in the case.

Subsequently, the police conducted investigation in the light of the JIT report and filed a supplementary investigation report, charge-sheeting Hammad Siddiqui, Bohla, their other accomplices and the factory owners.