KARACHI, Oct 24: The Additional District and Sessions Judge-II (Central), Nelofer Shahnawaz Azmi, on Wednesday directed the superintendent of the Central Prison Karachi to produce Akhtar Hussein Baloch, owner of a factory, and Mohammad Ahsanullah, boiler operator, in connection with a case pertaining to a blast in the factory that had left nine people dead and 25 others injured. The two accused are in judicial custody.

They were arrested after a boiler exploded at the towel dyeing and bleaching factory in New Karachi on July 24 this year.

Investigators accused the factory owner and management of sheer negligence.

The investigation officer of the Taimuria police station had submitted the charge-sheet to the court of the Judicial Magistrate-12 (Central), Abdul Zahoor Chandio on Sept 24.

Referring to a parallel inquiry conducted by officials of the Directorate of Industries, the IO said that a boiler operator must hold a licence to handle the job and should be well-versed with the operation of the machinery.

“The boiler that exploded did not have safety devices in place and also lacked a heat intensity gauge meter,” the IO stated in his report, adding that the investigation had proved that the factory owner was also guilty of negligence as he was supposed to ensure maintenance of safety standards at his factory.

The IO’s report did not address the issue of the expired boiler clearance certificate produced by the factory owner within a couple of days of the incident which could provide clues to the machine’s fitness level. It also lacked any mention of whether the essential inspection had been done by the authorities concerned.

The charge-sheet in the case was also submitted after long delay which the IO attributed to the non-availability of the inquiry report that was being prepared by the Boiler Inspection Wing of the Directorate of Industries, Anwar Ali.

An interim charge-sheet was submitted to the court on Aug 9 but the judicial magistrate directed the IO to submit the final charge-sheet. The court fixed Aug 29 for the submission of the charge-sheet but the IO, Mohammed Ilyas, did not appear in court and submitted an application stating that his absence was due to his preoccupation with the investigation of some other criminal case.

On Aug 30, the judicial magistrate lodged a complaint with the SSP Central and West with reference to the IO’s failure to comply with the court’s orders. Instead of appearing in court, the IO sent an application requesting more time to complete the charge-sheet.

The judicial magistrate wrote again to the police officials concerned, including the CCPO, DIG and TPO of North Karachi, complaining that the IO was not responding to the court’s orders. Eventually, the IO appeared in court on Sept 3 but failed to submit a complete charge-sheet.

The court then fixed Sept 7 for the submission of the complete charge-sheet and directed the Boiler Inspection Wing’s inspector to convey his findings to the IO before the next date of hearing.

The FIR (No.359/07) was registered at the Taimuria police station under Sections 322/H-2, 427 and 109 PPC.

The factory owner was arrested soon after the incident while the boiler operator had escaped to his native town in Punjab. He was arrested on July 31.