Seven killed during Eid holidays

RAWALPINDI: Seven people, including two women, were killed and over 450 others injured in separate incidents during the Eid holidays, police said.

Three youths drowned in a small dam in the Jatli police area on the second day of Eid. Later, their bodies were retrieved from the water.

The police said Rizwan Ali, 24, along with his cousins Wahab Ali, 13, and Kashif Saddique, 15, had gone to the Niku Dam on a picnic where they drowned while swimming.

Though the screams of the drowning boys caught the attention of the onlookers, they could not be rescued.

Gulzar Hussain, the father of Rizwan Ali, told the police that he did not want to register any case as it was an accidental death.

“It was tragic that the three boys drowned on the second day of Eid. Women could be seen screaming and crying as the bodies were brought to their homes,” a police investigating officer told Dawn.

In the meanwhile, people injured in road accidents continued reaching the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital and Benazir Bhutto Hospital in the garrison city on Monday.

According to Holy Family Hospital (HFH)’s deputy medical superintendent Dr Shahzad Rehan, 160 victims of motorcycle-related accidents were treated at the hospital during the holidays. He said almost all the injured were young people who suffered bone fractures, cuts and other wounds.

Likewise, over 170 youths injured in motorcycle-related accidents were treated at the BBH. The injured also included women and children.

Zafeer Ahmed, a motorcycle rider, was killed after being hit by another motorcycle at Committee Chowk Underpass on the Eid day. An elderly woman, who could not be identified by the police, was killed after being hit by a motorcycle in Banni area on Sunday.

Umaira, 19, wife of Adnan, who was going with her husband on a motorcycle, was killed after a car hit them in the limits of Civil Lines police. The woman’s husband was injured. Shahzad Khan died after his motorcycle rammed into a van while doing a wheelie near Rawat.

More than 150 people injured in motorcycle-related accidents were also treated at the DHQ Headquarters Hospital.

It may be noted that the city traffic police in press release before Eid holidays had said special squads headed by senior inspectors had been formed to check wheeling and reckless driving during Eid holidays. However, hardly any such police team was seen patrolling.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2015

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