June 21, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 16, 1429

KARACHI, June 20: Additional district and sessions judge-II (Central) Nelofer Shahnawaz on Friday adjourned till July 14 the hearing of a factory blast case since the prosecution witnesses did not turn up to testify.

Nine people were killed and another 25 injured when a blast occurred in the boiler of a towel factory in New Karachi on July 24, 2007.

The case (FIR No.359/07) was registered under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Taimuria police station.

Factory owner Akhtar Hussain Baloch and his employee, Mohammad Ahsanullah (boiler operator) were arrested and remanded in jail custody. Baloch was later granted bail by the Sindh High Court against a surety bond of Rs500,000 while Ahsanullah is still in jail.

The two accused were indicted on the manslaughter charge in the earlier hearings. About 12 prosecution witnesses have already been examined in the case.

The investigation officer of the case, referring to a parallel inquiry conducted by officials of the Directorate of Industries, has stated in the charge-sheet that a boiler operator has to have a licence to qualify for the job and should be well-versed with the operation of the machinery. He has also pointed out that the factory did not have the safety devices required to be installed to check heating up of the boiler or protecting it from getting exploded.

Police firing case

Meanwhile, civil judge and judicial magistrate (Central) Sohail Ahmed on Friday re-issued a show-cause notice to the investigation officer of a police firing case via the DIG (investigation) directing him to appear in the court on June 30 and submit the charge-sheet of the case.

The case pertained to firing allegedly by three policemen in which two young boys riding a motorcycle were wounded. One of the victims later died.

The accused, police constables Mohammad Imran, Arif Hussain and Salman Farsi, had allegedly opened fire at Zubair Khan and Mohammad Saqib near Shakhi Hassan in North Nazimabad on March 21. The victims were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in critical condition but Zubair could not survive.

Over the past two-and-a-half months, the court has issued notices directly to the IO about 12 times to submit charge-sheet of the case. It has also sent the notices through his superiors, the SSP and DIG (investigation), but the IO has not yet complied with the court’s order. The police high-ups concerned have also failed to ensure his appearance in the court.

The case (FIR No.164/08) was registered under the Sections 302, 324/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Taimuria police station.