KARACHI: PIB police on Monday registered a case against the administration of Askari Amusement Park, where the collapse of a carousel on Sunday night caused the death of Kashaf Samad, a teenage girl, and injuries to 24 others, including women and children, officials said.

An FIR (123/2018) has been registered on charges of unintentional murder, said Gulshan-i-Iqbal SP Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto.

He said the FIR was registered on behalf of the state as the victim girl’s father, Abdul Samad, refused to get the case registered against the park administration. The father in his note told the police that he did not want to lodge an FIR. The SP said that the police waited for the parents for the whole day to get the FIR registered.

The police have invoked Section 319 (punishment for qatl-i-khata) and Section 337 (H)1 (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

‘The rotating machine was manufactured with substandard material’

Sources said that the owners of the park were reportedly trying for a “patch-up” with the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, Karachi East DIG Amir Farooqi told Dawn that preliminary investigations into the incident showed that the Askari Park administration was guilty of criminal negligence as they installed the rotating machine manufactured with “substandard material” and did not maintain it properly.

Besides, the DIG said the park administration also did not have any proper arrangement for rescue efforts, which caused the teenage girl’s death and injuries to several others.

Initial probe

A senior official familiar with the probe told Dawn on condition of anonymity that initial findings showed that the shaft with which the two sides of the machine were attached snapped from the spot it was connected with rivets.

The officer added that it happened either due to substandard material or design fault as one side became too heavy to balance with the weight on the other side.

Meanwhile, a PIB police official on Monday said that they received information at around 10.30pm on Sunday that a carousel in Askari Amusement Park situated on University Road in Gulshan-i-Iqbal had collapsed in which several people were injured, who were taken to hospital for treatment.

However, teenage girl Kashaf Samad was pronounced dead on arrival at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi.

Relatives took away the body without allowing doctors to fulfil their legal formalities, said police surgeon Dr Aijaz Khokhar.

Her funeral prayer was held in Bahadurabad. Later, she was buried in a local graveyard. Talking to the media on the occasion, the victim’s parents said they would get an FIR registered against the park administration.

The grief-stricken mother demanded that such parks be closed down as for them earning money appeared to be more important than human life.

The police and hospital officials said that around 24 persons, including children and women, were injured in the incident.

One injured, Ibrahim, 23, who sustained wounds on his left leg, was admitted for treatment at the CHK while three other persons were discharged after first aid from the hospital.

Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC, told Dawn that 11 injured persons were brought to the hospital and were discharged after they were given first aid.

Eight other injured persons were taken to the Liaquat National Hospital and most of them were discharged after first aid.

A statement issued by the commissioner’s office said that among the injured only four were admitted for treatment. Of them, Kifayat had received serious injuries. He was operated upon and now his condition was out of danger, said the spokesperson.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2018