KARACHI, Oct 1: A sessions court on Monday granted interim bail to the owners of a garment factory in Baldia Town where a devastating fire had claimed the lives of over 250 workers on Monday.

The court granted bail to the owner of the industrial unit, Abdul Aziz Bhaila, and his two sons Arshad Bhaila and Shahid Bhaila, after they surrendered themselves in the trial court on the last day of their protective bail.

On Sept 14, they approached the Sindh High Court’s Larkana circuit bench for bail and the court granted them protective bail for seven days and later they got it extended from a Lahore High Court bench in Rawalpindi till Oct 1.

The owners along with a panel of lawyers appeared before Additional District and Sessions Judge (west) Abdullah Channa and moved applications for interim bail.

The applicants’ counsel questioned the insertion of Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code in the FIR and also contended that the applicants were being harassed by the police.

The court granted interim bail to the suspects against a surety bond of Rs1million each till Oct 6 and issued a notice to the prosecutor on the pleas and also directed the investigation officer to submit a progress report on the next hearing.

The judge directed the suspects to join the investigations and not to leave the city without the permission of the court.

Abdul Aziz Bhaila appeared in court on a wheelchair apparently due to his bad health condition.

Six sent to prison A judicial magistrate remanded on Monday six suspects in judicial custody in the Baldia Town factory inferno case till Oct 3.

The police produced Mansoor, said to be a manager of the gutted factory, gatekeepers Fazal Ahmed, Arshad Mehmood and Ali Mohammad and two other employees of the factory, Hanif and Mohammad Majid, in court after the expiry of their police remand on Monday.

Judicial Magistrate (west) Sohail Ahmed Mashori sent the suspects to prison on judicial remand till Oct 3 and ordered the IO to submit a charge-sheet on the next hearing.A case (FIR 343/12) was registered against the factory owners and others under Sections 302, 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab i.e. when a person dies as a result of injury from something which is neither a weapon nor like a weapon), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage etc.), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.), 337 (Shajjah) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the SITE-B police station.