Gul Plaza Fire Case Registered Against Unidentified Accused
KARACHI: Police have registered a case over the deadly Gul Plaza fire incident against unidentified persons under charges of negligence and carelessness, ARY News reported on Saturday.
According to officials, the case has been registered with the government named as the complainant, while a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) has been sealed. No individual has been nominated as an accused at this stage.
The FIR states that the fire erupted due to “gross negligence and carelessness,” citing a complete lack of safety measures inside Gul Plaza. It further mentions that electricity was cut off inside the market during the incident, causing severe difficulties for people trapped inside the building.
The report also notes that several gates were locked at the time of the fire, which significantly worsened the situation and hampered evacuation efforts.
Police said the names of those responsible would be added to the FIR after the completion of investigations into the incident.
Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had announced that a formal case would be registered in connection with the tragic fire.
Meanwhile, search and clearance operations continued for the eighth consecutive day at the fire-ravaged Gul Plaza on M.A. Jinnah Road. Officials said the blaze has so far claimed dozens of lives, while several people remain missing.
A technical investigation team, accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner South, visited the site and inspected the ground floor of the damaged building. Authorities confirmed that around 90 percent of the search operation has been completed, with Urban Search and Rescue and Rescue 1122 teams actively involved.
So far, 71 bodies have been recovered from the site, of which only 15 have been identified. Several individuals reported missing following the incident are still untraced.
The massive fire that broke out on January 17 sent shockwaves across the city, leaving Gul Plaza structurally unsafe. While the blaze has been extinguished, search teams, with support from the Army, Rangers, and civil authorities, continue efforts to locate missing persons as engineers assess the stability of the damaged structure.
