YEREVAN. – Iravunk daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA)  writes: On August 14, around 13:30, an explosion had taken place at the Surmalu shopping center, as a result of which 16 people were killed. On August 18, a criminal case was opened on the incident, and on August 26, the RA Prosecutor's Office had announced that the court has selected arrest as a pretrial measure for 3—the business owners—of the 4 defendants in the explosion case, whereas the Prosecutor's Office's petition to arrest the deputy director of the shopping center was denied.

What is the progress of this criminal case? Why are only business owners called to account in the case when in such matters the state—in the form of relevant bodies—has its clear functions, which were obviously not fulfilled?

Ultimately, it was the state that was obligated to oversee in a way that RA citizens would not die, would not be injured, and would not have property losses. However, the fact of the actual explosion already proves that it is not done, and there should be those who answer.

So, why did they only call the "lower" ones to account, leaving the "upper" ones alone? We tried to find out these questions from the Investigative Committee, from where they informed us that there is an active investigation phase.

And our sources informed that major developments are expected in this case in the coming week.