To trace ‘murderous gas’ suspect, Keamari police risk further deaths
How do you catch a murder suspect red-handed? Most would argue cogent investigations, forensics and even tests of various kinds in a quest for clues that can put the result beyond a reasonable doubt. But for the police in Karachi’s Keamari, they believe that by allowing a suspect, fully armed with what is believed to be the murder weapon, to roam free and kill again.
The circumstances surrounding the enigmatic deaths of 18 people, including 16 minors, in Ali Mohammad Goth, Union Council 8 of Muach Goth in the Keamari District of Karachi have been the subject of police investigation.
The police have been busy this week after a local court instructed them to investigate the matter and bring the responsible “murderers” to justice, despite the fact that they “forgot” to send blood samples drawn from the single death after the matter received national attention.
The police then received permission to exhume the remains of suspects who had passed away within the first 20 days of January.
The police attempted to collect samples of the suspected airborne toxins, which many believe were to blame for the deaths, on Saturday.
The affected area was visited by a police team led by District South Investigation-III Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Saleem Shah.
Experts from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) accompanied his team. The police have taken control of the organization to look into the enigmatic deaths.
The authorities ordered the sealed, illegal industrial units that had been operating in the area prior to January 25 to be reopened in order to determine the toxicity of the materials inside and any emissions—gases and other air pollutants—that might have been released during production.
The police and SEPA officials wanted something more solid to support their case, so they obtained samples from the materials and any residue in the cauldrons.
It is pertinent to note that SEPA had previously excluded the presence of any toxic gas or other air pollutants that could have contributed to the deaths in its official report.
In addition, a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad on February 2 suggested that the district might have a measles outbreak because four of the 13 samples it received tested positive for the virus.
That made for a fatal combination when combined with the absence of any vaccinations at all for children in the region.
According to South-Zone Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Irfan Baloch, the Sindh High Court had directed the police to file ten FIRs against the industrial unit owners.
According to the DIGP, the police have requested that the court exhume the victims’ bodies, and a judicial magistrate has granted permission to exhume the bodies of 15 victims in order to collect samples.
When questioned about the Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) that the police follow when conducting such investigations, DIGP Baloch stated that the police would investigate the case’s medical and environmental aspects prior to making any representations to the courts.
He stated that the victims’ bodies would be exhumed and samples would be taken from them by a medical board.
For analysis, the samples will be sent to the laboratory.
The DIGP added that the police have begun evaluating the toxicity of factory-emitted gases and air pollutants.
He said that SSP Shah and environmental experts went to the affected area for this reason.
SSP Shah said that a police team and SEPA experts visited Ali Muhammad Goth on Saturday when asked about investigations.
He said that the factories were closed at the time, noting that SEPA had previously collected samples of gasses and air pollutants from the area.
He stated that they decided to recreate the situation that existed prior to the closure of these factories in order to account for this significant difference when samples were collected, particularly any hazardous gases that were released.
According to SSP Shah, the affected area contains 21 factories and industrial units. He went on to say that their owners had been instructed to reopen their units for a short period of time on Monday, February 13, and to resume their usual production procedures in order to collect samples of the gases and air pollutants that were produced during production.
Shah responded that they would only briefly resume production for sample collection when asked if this could put the locals in danger.
It is important to note at this point that the deaths stopped after the factories in the area closed, according to a report issued by the Sindh Health Department after collecting medical samples from the area and observing affected families.
After factories were closed, there was only one death in the area: Abdul Aleem, who was three years old.
A post-mortem examination of Abdul Haleem has been postponed until the results of tests on blood and tissue samples taken from his body are received.
The police apparently “forgot” to send the samples to Aga Khan University Hospital and Karachi University’s International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences for testing for diseases or other toxins earlier this week.
