Judicial Magistrate South, Kalsoom Sehto, heard the case related to the tragic building collapse in the Lyari area’s Baghdadi locality, where 27 people lost their lives. The police presented the accused in court and requested their physical remand.
The accused presented include builder Abdul Rahim, Asim Khan, Asif Rizvi, Irfan Naqvi, Syed Zargam Haider, Ashfaq Khokhar, Faheem Siddiqui, Zafar Iqbal, Zulfiqar Shah, Jameel, Jalees, and Younus Khan. The court granted police custody of the accused for three days.
According to the initial police report, 14 individuals, including six directors from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), were held responsible for the incident.
The report states that the building was originally constructed in 1986 and had been in a dilapidated and uninhabitable condition for a long time. The SBCA officials were reportedly aware of the building’s condition since 2022 but failed to take appropriate action. Their negligence led to the partial collapse of the structure, resulting in the deaths of 27 people, including women and children.
Investigation Officer Inspector Zahid Shah requested an extension in remand for further inquiry. Defense lawyers requested bail for some of the accused, arguing that Abdul Rahim also lost five family members in the collapse and was not actually a builder.
After hearing the arguments, the court emphasized that 27 people had died and the accused had clearly been named in the case. Therefore, the court handed them over to police custody until July 14 for further investigation.
The judge also instructed the investigation officer to present the accused and submit an updated progress report at the next hearing.