Owners, legal heirs of Mehran Town factory fire case reach settlement

KARACHI: A district and sessions judge on Monday granted bail to factory and building owners and other accused in Mehran Town factory case following a settlement reached between the owners and the legal heirs of 16 factory workers who had died in a fire at the factory.

The fire allegedly caused by an electric short-circuit had engulfed the industrial unit M/s BM Luggage on Aug 27, killing 16 workers.

On the last hearing, counsel for the factory owners, Advocate Hassan Sabir, had inform the District and Sessions’ Judge (East) Khalid Hussain Shahani that his clients were in the process of reaching an out-of-court settlement with the legal heirs of the victims.

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The counsel had produced personal affidavits signed by the legal heirs of seven victims, saying they had agreed to settle the matter with the factory owners against payment of compensation. Similarly, the legal heirs of nine other victims had already submitted their compromise applications with the court, the counsel had informed the court.

The counsel further informed that factory’s owner Hassan Meetha and its building’s owner Faisal Tariq had agreed to pay a total of 4.2 million rupees as diyat (monetary compensation) to each legal heir of the victims over a period of two years.

Earlier, factory’s owner Hassan Meetha alias Ali Meetha, its building’s owner Faisal Tariq, manager Syed Imran Ali Zaidi, supervisors Zafar and Rehan and watchman Syed Zarin were arrested  for their alleged involvement in the incident. Police had arrested the watchman and later arrested Meetha, Tariq and Zaidi after district and sessions judge (East) revoked interim pre-arrest bail granted to them on August 30, 2021.

Meetha had agreed to contribute 60 percent of the amount while Tariq will pay 40 percent, the counsel stated adding that a cheque of one million rupees each had already been given to legal heirs of the victims while they would receive 400,000 rupees each after every six months from the remaining amount.

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The court was told that none of the officers of the provincial government, civic agencies or utilities nominated by the investigating officer in the charge-sheet would be liable to pay any monetary compensation to the legal heirs of the victims. Later, they moved fresh applications seeking grant of post-arrest bail.

A case was registered under Sections 322 (manslaughter) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Korangi Industrial Area police station on behalf of the state through SHO Mohammad Tariq Arain.