Basant fever leaves minor dead

Published March 1, 2003

GUJRANWALA, Feb 28: A minor boy was killed when he fell from the roof of his house while flying kite on Basant, which was celebrated for the second time in a week on the call of an association, here on Friday.

Reports said Wahab Ikram, son of industrialist Sheikh Yasir Ikram, fell from his rooftop and died instantly.

Meanwhile, some elderly residents of Gakkhar town expressed resentment over hooliganism by youth during Basant festivities on Thursday night.

They urged the district administration and police to book the people, who violated ban on aerial-firing, playing loud music and display of crackers.

They said the local administration and the police had failed to crack down on the violators, who played ducks and drakes to celebrate the event.

Basant was also celebrated in Rahwali, Kamoki, Qila Dedar Singh, Alipur Chattha and Wazirabad.

KILLED: Five people, including an elderly woman, were killed while more than two dozen others injured in various accidents in and around the district on Friday.

Reports said Sialkot-based traders Javed Iqbal and Bashir Ali were on their way back home from Lahore when their car (STH-9333) rammed into a roadside tree near Eminabad Morr. They died on the spot.

Two passengers were killed while several others hurt when a Rawalpindi-bound bus collided head-on with a trailer near the Wazirabad bypass.

Shamshad Ali and Ghazanfar Ali died instantly. The injured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital. Trailer driver Muhammad Khan fled.

An elderly woman, Bashiran, was knocked down by a speeding coaster on the main Sheikhupura Road. She died within minutes.

ANTI-US PROTEST: Activists of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and other religious groups continued protest against imminent United States attack on Iraq on Friday.

Carrying placards and banners emblazoned with slogans against the US, the protesters gathered at Sheranwala Bagh and marched towards the Tower chowk, where they dispersed peacefully.

Reiterating that America wanted to seize the Middle East’s resources, organizations’ leaders urged the world to pressure the US not to go aggressive against Iraq.

DEATH SENTENCE: The sessions court on Friday handed down death sentence to three convicts and life terms and Rs0.5 million fine to six others in various murder cases.

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