SWABI: At least five members of a family, including women and a child, drowned after a rickshaw carrying 14 people fell into the Gohati Canal near Bakar Chowk on Monday. Nine others were rescued, while two remained missing as of the latest update.
According to a Rescue 1122 official, the family was travelling from Bakar village to Gohati area in a rickshaw when the vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into the canal. Eyewitnesses reported that the rickshaw was overspeeding at the time of the incident, causing the driver to lose control.
Local divers immediately rushed to the site and managed to rescue five people before rescue teams arrived. Rescue officials later pulled three more individuals from the canal. Four of the rescued were shifted to Bacha Khan Teaching Hospital, where doctors confirmed the deaths of two women and a child.
Rescue teams said two individuals — a woman and her son — were still missing, and a search operation was underway.
Honour killing case: Three arrested in woman’s poisoning
Meanwhile, in a separate development, police arrested three individuals — a father and his two sons — for allegedly killing a woman in the name of honour.
According to Shah Dherai police, they acted on a tip-off and launched an inquiry at the crime scene. Investigations revealed that the woman had been forced to consume poison by her father and brothers, who then tried to misrepresent her death as natural.
SHO Gohar Ali led the raid and arrested all three suspects. Police said further investigation was ongoing.
Police bribery alleged in youth’s murder probe
In another incident, the family of a murdered youth accused an officer of Kanju police station of demanding a bribe to proceed with the case.
Speaking at a press conference at Kabal Press Club, Saleema, the mother of the deceased, Ziaur Rehman, alleged that her son was shot dead during the last days of Ramazan while returning home to break his fast.
She claimed that after lodging an FIR, a police officer asked the family to pay Rs25,000 as a “forensic fee” to examine the blood-stained clothes of her son. “We couldn’t pay the full amount initially,” she said. “Later, we arranged Rs20,000 and handed it over at the police station.”
Saleema appealed to authorities to provide justice and ensure the arrest of her son’s killer.
