BAHAWALPUR: A woman resident of the Darul Aman of the Social Welfare Department was found dead in her room on Thursday.

Speech and hearing impaired Farhat, 24, had been living in the room for the last six months. She was shifted here from Lodhran Darul Aman.

The police seized the body and sent it to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) mortuary for a postmortem examination.

Dawn learned the body was hanging with a ceiling fan in the room. Police said the postmortem examination would ascertain the cause of her death.

Darul Aman officials declined to meet reporters while the officials of the Social Welfare Department denied any such incident in the shelter.

District police chief’s public representative Rehan Gilani told Dawn that Baghdadul Jadid police were investing the case.

PLEA DISMISSED: An election tribunal, headed by retired district and sessions judge Chaudhry Abdul Hafeaz, dismissed on Thursday a petition against MPA Makhdum Iftikhar Gilani (PP-167).

The petition was filed by PML-N candidate Hasan Askari Sheikh pleading Iftikhar’s degree was bogus.

Makhdum Iftikhar was a National Awami Party candidate.

FUNDS: The Punjab government has released Rs600 million for the establishment of a medical college in Bahawalnagar, Divisional Commissioner Saqib Zafar said at a meeting.

After the release of the funds, the construction companies would be allotted work in groups.

The meeting participants learned Rs200 million would be released to complete construction work of the BVH’s kidney transplant and dialysis unit.

The completion work of the kidney unit has been delayed for years for the lack of funds. So far, Rs170 million have been utilised on the unit.

The provincial working development party has also approved the release of Rs100 million for the completion of cardiology and cardiac surgery block at the BVH. The funds would be spent on the purchase of machinery. The government also released Rs150 million and Rs20 million for the upgradation of BVH’s thalassemia and ICU units, respectively.

BURIED: Khalid Mehmood, who was allegedly killed in a target killing in Balochistan, was laid to rest in his native village, 50-DB near Yazman, on Thursday.

Khalid Mehmood, a motorcycle mechanic in Hub Choki, was killed by unidentified people.

He has left behind a widow and three children.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play