Metrobus driver, staff arrested over child's death

Family alleged bus driver drove the bus before doors could close completely

RAWALPINDI:

Police on Saturday arrested a Metrobus driver and the staff of Liaqat Bagh Metrobus station in a case involving the death of a four-year-old child.

A case was registered against them under sections 322 (punishment for Qatl-bis-sabab) and 337-G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The accused, who were held for showing negligence, will be presented in court today.

Police investigations revealed that four-year-old Rehan along with his mother and grandmother boarded the Metrobus from Chandni Chowk Station. When the bus stopped at Liaquat Bagh station, the family members attempted to get off the bus, but the minor boy fell onto the track due to a heavy rush.

The driver resumed the journey and the kid was run over and killed on the spot. After getting alerted, the SHOs of Waris Khan and City police stations along with police personnel immediately reached the scene.

The victim's maternal uncle told The Express Tribune that no security guard or Metrobus staff was present at the platform when passengers were boarding and disembarking the bus. The bus driver moved the bus without completely closing the door and despite knowing that the boy had fallen, he alleged.

Rehan's father teaches online and his mother Farkhanda is the complainant. The complainant took a stand that she had travelled from Abbottabad to Rawalpindi to her mother's home in Amarpura along with her two sons, Rehan and one-year-old Rohan.

She was riding the Metrobus to visit a shrine for his sons' health. At the bus stop, Rehan held onto her mother's shirt, but his foot got stuck between the bus and the gate. The mother tried to save her son due to her feet getting stuck besides raising noise but the bus driver drove the bus before the gate was closed. Rehan got injured, fell on the track from the station and was run over by the bus.