Father of zoo victim challenges admin’s narrative

Says his son was murdered, demands fair investigation

BAHAWALPUR:

The family of Bilawal, who tragically lost his life in the zoo incident, arrived in Bahawalpur to identify his body.

The father expressed his dissatisfaction with the district administration, alleging that they are attributing fabricated statements to him and his late son.

Bilawal's father commented on a statement by the Punjab chief minister, saying his son did not enter the tiger's enclosure with the help of a ladder.

“He has been killed, and investigations into his death should be conducted.”

Read Father of zoo victim says son was not an addict

Dr Javed clarified that Bilawal passed away between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. The head of the forensic department at Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Dr Talha, who conducted the post-mortem, contradicted this timeline, stating that Bilawal died on the night of the incident.

Dr Talha revealed that Bilawal's cause of death was strangulation and mauling.

Samples have been collected to check for the presence of drugs in the body, and DNA samples have also been taken for further investigation. DSP City Yunus Butar informed The Express Tribune that Bilawal's body has been handed over to the family, but they are reluctant to pursue legal action.

Read Bahawalpur zoo shut

According to Dr Javed, Bilawal had been staying away from home for several days and was missing for twenty days. DSP City Yunus Butar placed blame on the zoo management, stating that the incident occurred due to their negligence.

He suggested that Bilawal might have fallen from the roof of the tigers' cage, as no marks were found around the cage. On the other hand, DC Bahawalpur Zaheer Anwar reported that Bilawal's father and relatives have identified the body, which has been handed over to them.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2023.