KARACHI, Sept 25: Two more workers of the Baldia Town garment factory were held and remanded in police custody on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in the mysterious fire that engulfed the whole factory and claimed the lives of over 250 workers.

The two suspects — Hanif and Mohammad Majid — were produced by the police before Judicial Magistrate Sohail Ahmed Mashori for remand.

The police claimed that both the suspects were employed in the factory. However, the suspects pleaded their innocence before the court and said that they were not associated with the factory and came to the industrial unit to douse the fire.

The magistrate remanded them in police custody till Sept 29.

Meanwhile, three gatekeepers of the factory — Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad — who had been arrested earlier, were also produced before the court on Tuesday and the police sought extension in their remand.

The court extended their police remand till Sept 29 and directed the investigation officer to produce them along with a progress report on the next date.

On Sept 14, a Sindh High Court bench in Larkana had granted protective bail to the factory owner, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, and his two sons Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila. Later, they got the interim bail extended from the Lahore High Court bench in Rawalpindi till Oct 1.