‘Killer’ string claims life as Basant ban defied
Rawalpindi police seized thousands of kites and string rolls from the men arrested during the two-day Basant Festival celebrated despite a ban by the Punjab government. PHOTOs: Agha Mahroz/EXPRESS
A 50-year-old motorcyclist was killed when chemical strings slid across his throat on Friday.
Ikram Bari, who lived in Rehman Town, Nishatabad, had been on his way to D-Type Colony on his motorcycle with his 25-year-old son, Manan Ikram, as his pillion when rope hanging under the underpass slid across his neck, killing him on the spot due to excessive bleeding. The SP of Madina Town, M Aziz Sindu, the DSP of People’s Colony, Jamshed Iqbal Nasir, the SHO of People’s Colony, Rai Ifta Waseem, and other senior police officers reached the spot and handed over the body of the deceased to his family after necessary procedure.
The unfortunate incident happened because people defied government ban on Basant and flew kites and celebrated the event with fervor. The scale at which the ban on Basant was defied could be measured by the number of people police arrested for defying the ban. A minor boy fell from the roof of his house while catching a kite.
To make things worse, some daredevils even resorted to aerial firing while “celebrating” Basant. Police arrested around 442 people on Friday during raids and claimed to have seized hundreds of kites, chemical strings and other items. A boy was injured when an stray bullet him. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, taking note of the matter, expressed his anger over the death of a motorcyclist and demanded a report of the incident from the Inspector General of Police, saying, “It is unfortunate that kite-flying has not stopped despite the ban. Police should strictly enforce the law and take adequate measures to curb kite-flying”.
Read: WATCH: Hundreds defy ban to celebrate Basant in Rawalpindi
Chief Minister Usman Bazdar also offered his condolences to the family of the deceased. Despite the ban imposed by the Punjab government, the Kite Flying Association had vowed it would celebrate Basant on Thursday and Friday in Faisalabad.
Faisalabad police chief Ghulam Mubashir Mekan and district administration officers had formulated a comprehensive plan to prevent university students from celebrating Basant.
Police and district administration officers also carried out large-scale operations in different areas, but the people of Faisalabad continued to celebrate Basant.