KARACHI: Police on Friday arrested the builder in connection with the deaths of 15 people in a building collapse triggered by a gas explosion in Soldier Bazaar a day earlier.

Soldier Bazaar Station House Officer (SHO) Rizwan Patel confirmed that the owner-cum-builder Mohammed Irshad had been arrested after the registration of a first information report (FIR). He said the held suspect had rented out the building to the victims.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn, was registered on the complaint of sub-inspector Khalid Mehmood at the Soldier Bazar police station under sections 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 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 (punishment of shajjah) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, police received information on early Thursday morning about the collapse of a building in Gul Rana Colony, in which several people were killed and injured.

Upon reaching the spot, the complainant said that one portion of the structure had completely collapsed. He said that the building, spread over 40 square yards, had been constructed using heavy-duty steel channels and nylon sheets. He further said that the building was a ground plus three-storey structure.

The sub-inspector said that a man named Shahid Rasool lived on the first floor with his family. He said that at around 3:30am, Rasool’s wife lit a match to prepare Sehr, adding that the room was already full of gas due to a leakage.

This led to the explosion, which caused the whole building to collapse, he said. The complainant further said that the rescue officials recovered at least 15 dead bodies from the rubble, while 15 others were injured in the incident.

The official stated that the owner of the building had constructed the structure “illegally” in approximately 2007/2008. He said that the gas connection was also provided “illegally through pipes installed in a haphazard and unsafe manner, leading to the unfortunate incident.

According to the FIR, the suspect committed negligence by installing substandard gas lines in an “illegally” constructed building.

The complainant further said that the Bomb Disposal Unit had examined the destroyed building and submitted their report. He said that according to the unit, the gas leakage occurred because of substandard gas pipelines, which led to a gas leak and ultimately triggered an explosion when a match was lit.