Tough decisions: Death of a colleague brings the BDS down

The in-charge of the bomb disposal squad in Hyderabad resigned as he feels the department does not care about its men

HYDERABAD:

The death of Saleem Vistro - a colleague, friend and serving officer has left Hyderabad’s Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) demoralised.

The squad’s regional in-charge, inspector Fakhrul Hassan, is in mourning for his close friend Vistro who succumbed to his injuries after trying to defuse a hand grenade. Vistro’s death has forced Hassan to make a tough decision. He has decided to resign from his post as the regional in-charge of the BDS as he feels the department just does not care about its men.

“My colleague died in my arms,” he said. “We ran from one city to another and then another trying to save his life but could not get him the medical treatment he needed.” He added that the department’s heads and high-ups left them in a lurch.



Timely treatment, Hassan believes could have saved his friend. “Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and survived because of the treatment she received,” he said. “Saleem’s hands were the only part of his body that received injuries.”

On Tuesday, Vistro was critically injured when a hand grenade exploded in his hands as he was trying to defuse it at the A-Section police station in Tando Allahyar. He was taken to Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, for treatment instead of the district hospital – which was less than 50 kilometres away. His injured hands and other wounds kept bleeding profusely on the way to the hospital.

When they reached Hyderabad, the doctors could not stop the bleeding. They cleaned up his wounds and provided him with first aid before referring him to Liaquat National Hospital in Karachi for further treatment.

According to Hassan, Vistro was not given proper medical attention even after they reached Karachi. Around 15 to 20 minutes before he passed away, the doctors told Hassan that there was some internal bleeding.

The deceased officer’s nephew, Sarfaraz Vistro, also complained about the lack of medical treatment in Hyderabad and Karachi. According to the family, Special Branch SP Imdad Shah provided Rs80,000 from his pocket for the treatment while the Tando Allahyar police only gave Rs10,000. He said that the total amount they had managed to collect was not enough for the treatment or subsequent surgeries.

“No one is interested bomb detection or how to defuse it,” said Hassan. “There is hardly one person in a million who would be willing to do this ungrateful and dangerous job.” He added that the few who did sign up for the job were demotivated.

Hassan claimed that it was disappointing that there was no emergency medical fund for the BDS personnel who put their lives on risk doing dangerous work.

According to the Special Branch SP, an inquiry had been initiated into the case to find out why the BDS team did not take any protective gear, kit or their vehicle along for the case. “Perhaps, Hassan resigned because an inquiry has been initiated,” he said, while talking to The Express Tribune. Vistro, it is claimed, was not wearing the protective gear at the time of the incident and was defusing around 40 hand grenades which had been recovered from the residence of a nationalist worker during a raid on October 16 in Tando Allahyar. He was in the process of defusing the 19th hand grenade when it exploded.

Before Vistro’s death and Hassan’s resignation there were eight people working for the BDS in Hyderabad, including the inspector and assistant sub-inspector. Now, there are only six junior members who feel a little alienated.

“I suffered from a severe attack of paralysis a while ago and the government did not do anything to help me or for the treatment,” said Muhamamd Ramzan, a sub-inspector who will most likely become the acting in-charge of the BDS in Hyderabad.

Muharram security and the squad

The squad plays an important part in providing the city’s residents with security - this Muharram they have a small team which will cover nine districts of the region. The police claim that they only declare an area clear for the processions and majalis after the BDS has checked the area out.

According to a BDS personnel, they are supposed to get an additional 50 per cent of their basic salary as a high-risk allowance but have not received any in the last couple of years.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2014.