KARACHI: The Rizvia Society police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested three officials on charges of their involvement in the collapse of a multistorey building in Gulbahar last Thursday that claimed the lives of 27 people, including women and children, and caused injuries to 23 others, officials said.

They added that concerted efforts were under way to arrest the main suspect, the owner-cum-builder of the collapse building, while victims and residents of the area protested on a second consecutive day on Wednesday for justice for the deceased and compensation for the loss of human lives and destruction of property.

The police have registered the case against the owner, Mohammed Javed, and officials of the relevant institutions on manslaughter and other charges on behalf of the state through an area police officer, Aijaz Memon.

“We have arrested three officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority over their involvement in the building collapse case,” confirmed Rizvia Society station investigation officer (SIO), Agha Amir.

The held officials were identified as Sarfaraz Jamali, Mansoor Qureshi and Irfan Ali.

The investigation officer said that they were making concerted efforts to arrest the main suspect, Javed, who has escaped after the tragedy.

The officer hoped that he would be arrested very soon.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident and were collecting statements of the witnesses.

Separately, the commissioner of Karachi and director general of the SBCA had set up two committees led by experts and officials concerned to probe the causes of the building collapse, ascertain whether the building had an approved plan or design and fix responsibility.

Meanwhile, the residents and families of the victims on Wednesday held a protest demonstration in the Gulbahar area.

This was the second day that the affected people were holding a demonstration to draw the attention of the authorities towards their issues.

The Rizvia Society police officer said that people, including relatives of the deceased, had been demanding that they should be provided alternative homes and compensation over the loss of lives of their dear ones. They also demanded arrest of the culprits responsible for the incident and provision of justice.

The five-storey building had collapsed in Gulbahar on Thursday and fell on other adjacent multistorey buildings that also caved in.

The police in their preliminary probe said that the owner was trying to construct an additional floor when the building developed cracks. The main suspect allegedly tried to erect additional pillars to support existing pillars to strengthen the structure when the building collapsed.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2020