Kite-string ‘murder’: Three officials sacked, inquiry launched

Ravi Road police took three hours to register the case.

LAHORE:

Three police officials were dismissed and one was asked to report to the central police office after a 28-year-old man was killed when his throat was cut by kite string near the Badami Bagh flyover on Sunday.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday sought a report from the provincial police chief within 24 hours.

Operations DIG Rana Abdul Jabbar, on the chief minister’s orders, terminated from service Badami Bagh Station House Officer (SHO) Taseer Riaz, Ravi Road SHO Nasir Hameed and Badami Bagh circle DSP Mehr Mumtaz and ordered city SP Imtiaz Sarwar to report to the central police office. The SHOs of the police stations had been suspended soon after the incident. The Badami Bagh and Ravi Road police officials had argued over jurisdiction after reaching the scene.

It took Ravi Road police three hours to register a murder case against unidentified people and initiate investigation.

The deceased, Hafiz Rashid, was going on a motorcycle when he came in contact with the string. He was injured, fell on the road and was taken to Mayo Hospital where he died due to excessive bleeding.

Rashid, a resident of Badami Bagh, is survived by his wife and a daughter. His family staged a protest against the police at the hospital. The family insisted the police hand over the body to them and chanted slogans against them after the body was moved to the morgue for autopsy.

DIG Abdul Jabbar said Security SP Ali Salman Khan was asked to investigate the incident. The inquiry report was not finalised until this report was filed.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2014.