SHC grants bail to officials of Regent Plaza

Author: Yousaf Katpar

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court granted protective bail to two owners and three employees of the Regent Plaza Hotel in the hotel fire case that has claimed 12 lives.

Chief executive officer Muzaffar Baweja, managing director Zubair Baweja, chief security officer retired Major Saad, chief engineer Arshad Mughal and supervising engineer Saleem Pervez have been booked on charges of criminal negligence, carelessness and not following the emergency plan.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan approved the bail for them against the surety bond of Rs200,000 each.

The court has directed them to surrender before the trial court within four days.

Advocate Amir Mansoob, who represented them, submitted that the fire broke out in the hotel incidentally. He added that the suspects were willing to join the investigation, but apprehended their arrest by the police.

He said that his clients were saddened by the loss of precious lives of the people. The counsel, therefore, requested the court to grant his clients protective bail so that they could appear before the trial court.

At least 12 people were burnt alive and 70 others were wounded when the fire broke out in the kitchen of Regent Plaza located at Shahrah-e-Faisal Karachi.

Subsequently, the police had registered an (FIR 355/2016) under section 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab) 337-A (punishment of shajjah), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.