Accident leaves 16 participants injured in Lahore

Last year, at least 27 congregation participants had lost their lives in an accident

LAHORE: At least 16 men suffered injuries when a passenger bus carrying the participants of the Raiwind congregation overturned in Sundar on Sunday.

The first phase of the four-day Tableeghi Ijtama concluded peacefully on Sunday. The next phase of the congregation will take place in March 2019.

An Ijtamai prayer was conducted on Sunday in which the participants prayed for peace and prosperity of the country and nation. Afterward, they started leaving the venue for their homes.

According to the exit plan, the roads connecting Raiwind Road were closed for traffic. These were used only for exist.

Chief Traffic Police Officer (CTO) Liaquat Ali Malik, SP Traffic Sardar Asif, and SP Traffic Asif Siddique reached the spot early in the morning to supervise the exit. First of all, motorcycle and rickshaw stands were emptied followed by car stands, wagon and truck stands. On successful exit of the traffic, Malik appreciated the efforts of wardens and distributed Rs0.2 million among them.

CCPO BA Nasir and DIG Operations Waqas Nazir also appreciated the efforts of security officials deployed at the religious event. Over 3,000 police officials under the supervision of 306 upper subordinates, 36 SHOs, 12 DSPs, and three SPs were deployed to perform duties in three shifts. A police help desk had also been established.

In November 2018, at least 27 people had lost their lives and about 60 were injured when a speeding passenger bus overturned in Dhok Pathan area of Talagang. All the riders were on way to Raiwind to attend the congregation. The victims belonged to the same village of Kohat, Mandarwari.