Three employees of the Sultoni Kabir market face charge of negligent destruction of property. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against them under the provisions of Article 256 of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – negligent destruction of property or damage caused by negligence.
“They are charged with negligent performance of duties causing destruction of property,” as source at the Main Fire Directorate of the Interior Ministry told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, investigation into the cause of the fire has established that those employees did not take any measure to remove shortcomings that had been revealed before. .
Recall, the Interior Ministry says the June 2 fire has caused 3.5 million somoni (TJS) worth of damage to Dushanbe’s Sultoni Kabir market.
“The commission has estimated a total damage caused by the fire to the Sultoni Kabir market at 3.5 million somoni,” Umarjon Emomali, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
The Dushanbe mayor’s office says more than 20 shops have been destroyed by the fire at the Sultoni Kabir market in Dushanbe.
The fire reportedly broke out on the first floor of the six-story market at 8:30 pm of June 2 and an area of 1,230 square meters that housed more than 20 shops of household appliances was enveloped in flames. Fortunately, no human casualties were reported.
More than 100 special machines and more than 3,000 servicemen of the Firefighting Service of the Interior Ministry were involved in extinguished the fire.
The fire was reportedly extinguished at 00:15 am of June 3.
Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali on June 3 met with top managers of the Sultoni Kabir market and entrepreneurs who were running shops at that market.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has attributed the Sultoni Kabir fire to an electrical malfunction. Dushanbe mayor reportedly ordered the market owner Sulton Kabirov to repay losses incurred by vendors at the expense of the market incomes.
