KARACHI: Police on Saturday submitted a progress report in the Baldia Town factory case in a sessions court.

According to the report, one of the accused in the case has informed police that the name of Anis Kaimkhani, a disgruntled leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was used for extorting money from factory owners on the pretext of providing compensation for victims.

Over 250 workers were burnt alive in a devastating fire at a multi-storey garment factory building in Karachi’s Baldia Town in September 2012.

Anis Kaimkhani’s name was used for extorting money from factory owners

Initially, police had charge-sheeted the owner of the ill-fated industrial unit, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, and his sons, Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila, a general manager and some gatekeepers in the tragic incident.

However, a joint investigation team (JIT) in March last year ordered reinvestigation into the case after a report prepared by the team was submitted to the Sindh High Court about a month earlier. According to the report which was prepared in 2013, Rizwan Qureshi — who is said to be a political worker and was arrested in an illicit weapon case in June 2013 — disclosed that the factory was set on fire after its owners failed to pay ‘protection money’.

When the case came up for hearing before Additional District and Sessions Judge (West) Maqbool Memon on Saturday, investigating officer SP Sajid Sadozai submitted the progress report, mainly containing findings and recommendations in the JIT report.

The report said that the factory fire was a planned terrorist activity involving some key members of MQM over non-payment of extortion money, adding that it was an act of arson and the miscreants used some highly reactive chemicals to torch up the factory.

It contended that former chief of MQM Karachi Tanzeemi Committee, Hammad Siddiqui, through his front man Abdul Rehman alias Bhola, the then sector in-charge of the party in Baldia Town, approached the factory owners to demand extortion of Rs250 million and partnership, but the Bhailas only offered Rs10 million to which the alleged extortionists did not agree.

The report alleged that Hammad Siddiqui asked Abdul Rehman to set the factory on fire ‘in order to teach the owners a lesson’. Zubair alias Charya, an employee of the factory who was affiliated with the party, along with his four unidentified accomplices set the factory on fire by throwing some chemicals in the warehouse located in the basement.

It further maintained that Hammad, his accomplices and their some closely-backed senior members of MQM allegedly influenced the investigations and got the factory owners and some employees booked in the FIR for their alleged negligence in ensuring the safety measures at the workplace and later blackmailed them by posing the victims as the workers and supporters of the party.

The report further contended that the owners were also harassed and threatened by different means not to reveal the facts to investigators, adding that the owners then contacted a Hyderabad-based businessman, Ali Hassan Qadri, seeking his help to strike a deal with MQM leaders.

The businessman informed the owners that his brother, Umar Hassan Qadri, had close ties with the then MQM deputy convener, Anis Kaimkhani, and he would settle the matter after discussing it with him, it added.

The report revealed that Ali Hasaan Qadri forwarded a proposal to the owners that the party had agreed to tone down the matter if they would pay Rs59.8 million as compensation at the rate of Rs250,000 for each dead and Rs100,000 for each injured.

However, the amount was never distributed among families of the victims and instead it was used for purchase of a property in Latifabad area of Hyderabad in the name of a woman, Iqbal Adeeb Khanum, the report said, adding that the cost of the property was Rs63.5 million.

The amount was paid through a bank account held by Dr Abdul Sattar who is said to be a close lieutenant/adopted son of Kaimkhani.

Since compensation cheques distribution ceremony was never organised, Ali Hassan Qadri informed the factory owners that the money they had paid was transferred to Kaimkhani.

According to the report, the JIT has recommended that a new case be lodged under the anti-terror law and proposed Hammad Siddiuqi, Abdul Rehman, Zubair, Ali Hasan, Umar Hassan, Abdul Sattar, Iqbal Adeeb Khanum and four unidentified persons as accused in it.

Regardless of the fact that Kaimkhani’s alleged indirect role was mentioned in the report, the JIT did not name him as among the proposed accused.

The investigation officer informed the court that the JIT report was with the home department for approval of lodging a new case under the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997, against the proposed accused.

The court directed the investigation officer to produce the complete report with a reply from the authorities about the fate of the case by March 22.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2016