May 06, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1429

KARACHI, May 5: Police have registered a case against the architect, the structure engineer, the owner and the contractor of an under-construction building following the death of a labourer after being hit by a falling rock in Bahadurabad on Sunday.

Saleem Shaikh was fixing an iron rod on the fourth floor of a building, located on Plot No 147 in Block 7 of CP and Bearer Society, when the rock adjoining the building came down on him at 10am. Saleem died on the spot while another labourer, Ashraf, survived the injuries. The body was recovered from the debris several hours after the incident.

A duty officer at Bahadurabad police station said that an FIR (No 91/2008) was registered under Section 322/34 and 337-H against the contractor of the building. However, police had made no arrests in connection with the case till the filing of this story.

Chief Controller of the Karachi Building Control Authority Manzoor Qadir, meanwhile, took serious notice of the incident and inspected the site on Monday, adds PPI.

He cancelled the licences of the architect and the structure engineer and constituted a committee under the supervision of design controller Ateeq Baig to probe the incident.

The chief controller directed the KBCA’s committee for dangerous buildings to conduct a survey of houses adjoining the hilly areas in the city and present its report at the earliest so that precautionary measures could be strictly implemented.

He warned that if any official of his department was found guilty, he would not be spared and strict action would be initiated against him. The KBCA has already made construction of a protective wall along hilly mountains as mandatory for construction of buildings abutting it.

Shootout

A team of the specialised investigation unit of police arrested three robbers and recovered a car and arms after a shootout in Defence police limits.

The task of arresting four robbers, who had committed a robbery in a bungalow on Sunday night, was given to SSP Muhammad Hassan.

On a tip-off, a raiding party signalled a suspicious vehicle to stop in the Sunset Boulevard area. The inmates opened fire on the police. Police returned the fire and managed to arrest three of the robbers, identified as Navid Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Azeem and Sajjad Ahmed, while their accomplice Qamar Zaman escaped under the cover of fire.

The police seized a car, a 7mm riffle, two TT pistols from their possession.

Accident

Four persons were injured when a fast-moving passenger coach overturned in Qayyumabad.

Nargis, Yasin, Sheharyar and his wife, Khenia sustained injuries when Ilyas Coach (PE-0016) overturned at a traffic signal in Qayyumabad. They were rushed to the JPMC.