A judicial magistrate has remanded in police custody the owner of the Soldier Bazaar building that collapsed on Thursday after a gas explosion, claiming the lives of 15 people.
Mohammad Irshad was arrested and booked under the Sections 322 (manslaughter), 288 (negligent conduct with building), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 337-A (shajjah) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The investigation officer (IO) produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate (East) and requested his physical remand in police custody for investigation. He stated that the explosion was caused by an illegal gas connection installed in the building.
The IO said the suspect’s negligence and carelessness led to the death of 15 people, including young children.
After hearing the IO, the magistrate handed over the suspect to the police on a seven-day physical remand.
According to the FIR, a resident identified as Shahid Rasool was living on the first floor of the building with his family. The incident occurred at around 3:30am when his wife lit a match to prepare Sehri. The room was already filled with gas due to a leakage, which immediately triggered a powerful blast that brought down the entire structure.
The complainant said that rescue teams later pulled at least 15 bodies from the debris, while another 15 people sustained injuries in the tragedy.
He said the building owner had built the structure illegally nearly 19 years ago. The official added that the gas supply to the premises had also been arranged unlawfully through poorly fitted and unsafe piping, which ultimately led to the incident. He claimed that the suspect showed negligence by installing substandard gas lines in the illegally constructed building.
Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar No 1 was left shattered on Thursday after a powerful blast tore through the densely populated katchi abadi of Gul-e-Rana. The explosion levelled a multi-storey residential building, claiming 15 lives and leaving as many injured.
Within moments, the tightly packed neighbourhood — where some lanes are so narrow that only one person can pass at a time — turned into a landscape of rubble, dust, and anguish.
The building where the incident occurred was built on a 30-35-square-yard plot, with each room occupying a separate floor. The structure had a ground plus two floors, while a family was also living on the terrace.
Preliminary findings indicated that the explosion was caused by gas leakage — a danger residents say had been looming for years. Locals claim the area suffers from chronic gas shortages and prolonged load-shedding, sometimes lasting for days.
In desperation, many households turned to gas cylinders as an alternative. At the same time, due to low pressure, several residents installed suction machines to draw gas into their homes. However, according to residents, when the gas supply resumed after outages, it often returned with extreme pressure.
“The pressure is never maintained,” said one resident, Rajab Ali. “Either there is no gas at all, or when it comes, it comes like a storm.” Residents argued that sudden high pressure significantly increased the risk of leakage — especially in homes lacking proper infrastructure.
