Karachi [Pakistan], February 10 : Four prosecution witnesses, including a teenage boy, recorded their statements before a judicial magistrate, stating that the deadly fire at Gul Plaza Shopping Mall originated from an artificial flower shop located on the ground floor, Dawn reported.
In connection with the same case, the statements were recorded on Monday before Judicial Magistrate (South) Aasim Aslam under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, after the investigating officer produced the witnesses before the court, according to details cited by Dawn.
Among those examined, one witness, 13-year-old Aryan, son of a shopkeeper, told the magistrate that he had seen 11-year-old Huzaifa, son of the artificial flower shop owner, playing with matchsticks moments before the blaze erupted on January 17.
Elaborating on the circumstances, he stated that he had gone to the flower shop at around 10 pm to meet Huzaifa before leaving the plaza, adding that the boy was alone at the shop when the fire suddenly broke out.
In addition to the minor witness, three salesmen working in the shopping mall also recorded their statements before the magistrate, corroborating that the fire began in the artificial flower shop, as per Dawn.
One of them, Waleed, stated that he was inside another shop on the night of the incident when he heard someone shouting that a fire had broken out.
He said he stood up and saw that the blaze was already raging in the artificial flower shop.
Describing the situation as it worsened, "The fire intensified and the place was filled with smoke," he said, adding that market committee members had arrived at the scene by then.
Waleed further stated that he and other shopkeepers attempted to remove the artificial flowers from the shop but were unable to do so as they were fixed with screws.
He added that when the fire became uncontrollable, he stepped back and managed to escape from the plaza.
Another salesman, Hamza, 29, also narrated his account before the court, saying that he was busy doing accounts in his shop when he saw a fire erupt in Shop No 193, the artificial flower shop, Dawn said.
He stated that when the blaze did not subside despite attempts to douse it with water, he ran towards an exit to save his life.
Similarly, Talha, 28, deposed that he was talking to his colleague when the fire suddenly broke out in the flower shop.
He said that he and other shopkeepers initially tried to extinguish the blaze but decided to flee after realising its intensity.
The fire, which erupted on the night of January 17, took nearly two days to be fully extinguished and left the ground-plus-three-storey building in ruins, with several sections collapsing, according to Dawn.
In the aftermath of the incident, a manslaughter case has been registered at the Nabi Bux police station on the complaint of the station house officer against unknown persons.
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