Young man jumps to death in canal

Police say victim was distressed by ongoing rivalry between his friends

FAISALABAD:

A young man, who had recently returned from abroad, reportedly took his life by jumping into a canal.

Rescue officials found the body of the man, identified as Arsalan Ahmed, in the canal on Monday and handed it over to the heirs.

His shoes and other belongings were found on the banks of the canal near Jaswana Bungalow.

Arsalan, a resident of Chak No 57GB area of Jaranwala Sadar police station had returned to his village from Dubai 20 days ago.

Reportedly, the uncle of the deceased youth, Safdar, had filed a kidnapping case against Mudassar, a grocery store owner who was also an old friend of the victim.

Police had taken the accused into custody after the case was registered against him.

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Jaranwala Sadar Station House Officer (SHO) Abdul Majeed Gujjar took Mudassar into custody and questioned him about his interaction with Arsalan.

Mudassar told the police that he had an old friendship with Arsalan, which soured after he shifted to Abu Dhabi.

In the new city, Arsalan became friends with Zeeshan who was an expatriate hailing from Sheikhupura. The new friend had forbidden him from maintaining ties with Mudassar, which upset Arsalan.

After he returned from the United Arab Emirates, Mudassar said, Arsalan came to his store to meet him on Saturday.

“He had said he would commit suicide as the strained friendship took a toll on him,” Mudassar said, adding that at that moment his mother called him and they both talked to her. He recalled mentioning to her that Arsalan was anxious and she should feed and look after him.

The accused further stated that his friend then left the store on a motorcycle.

The victim never returned home and instead took his own life. His body was found in Chak No 34GB canal area of Satiana police station two days later.

SHO Inspector Abdul Majeed confirmed that no signs of torture were found on Arsalan's body during the initial investigation.

He said the victim had apparently committed suicide owing to the intense rivalry between his two friends that had troubled him deeply. Further investigation regarding the case is underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2020.