Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered police to relaunch action against those responsible for gas leakage in Karachi’s Kemari area which led to 14 deaths in February last year.
The order has been issued by SHC’s two-member bench, consisting of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito, in light of an investigation report submitted by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).
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According to the SEPA report, SOPs for unloading ships were ignored, containers of toxic chemicals were stored for the past several years, the oil terminal was surrounded with heaps of garbage, and pipelines were in abysmal condition.
It adds that toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide were found in alarmingly high concentrations which rendered the quality of air at the Karachi port, the oil terminal, and adjoining areas injurious to health.
During the hearing of the case, Justice Mazhar questioned the rationale behind closing the case despite it being categorized as A-class.
In response, the Investigation Officer (IO) said that the police closed the case after the autopsy of one of the dead bodies revealed that the person had died as a result of drug overdose.
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Justice Amjad observed that the police failed to fulfill its responsibility and the investigation of the case was not conducted properly.
While adjourning the hearing until 16 March, the two-member bench ordered SSP Kemari to relaunch the investigation in the light of SEPA’s investigation report.
