KARACHI: An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) remanded the main accused of Baldia Factory fire Abdul Rahman alias Bhola in police custody on Wednesday till December 19, Aaj News reported. 

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police investigators brought Abdul Rahman alias Bhola to court in strict security.  The court ordered that an SP rank police official be appointed for investigation into the case.

Rahman pleaded not guilty in the court. "The allegations hurled at me are false. Asghar Baig had set the factory on fire," he said.

During the hearing, court remanded the accused in police custody. The court showed less satisfaction regarding the hiring investigation officer Raja Jahangir.

Abdul Rehman alias Bhola 46 starting a devastating factory fire in Karachi four years ago that killed 255 people was arrested in Bangkok on Dec 03.

Bhola was detained at a hotel in the red light district Nana area of the capital on Friday evening, said Thailand’s Interpol chief.

Read More: Thai police arrest ‘suspect’ in Baldia factory fire

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) brought Abdul Rahman to Karachi from Bangkok on Tuesday.

Earlier this year police said they now believed an extortion gang was behind the blaze, naming Abdul Rehman as the suspect who allegedly lit the fire. Much of the factory’s garment output went to the German company KIK, who have paid out nearly two million dollars in compensation to the victims’ families.

The fire at the Ali Enterprises factory in September 2012 was one of Pakistan’s worst industrial disasters.