LAHORE: A case against the owner of the shop has been registered over air conditioner compressor blast that claimed life of a man and left seven others injured in Township on Saturday night.

The case was registered by Township police under Section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter), Section 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) and Section 322 (punishment for Qatl Bis-Sabab) of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Abdul Rahim against owner of the shop Fawad Nasar.

According to the first information report (FIR), Nasar who had a shop of compressors was using poor quality material and wrong methods that resulted in the blast.

A religious event was going on when it was disrupted after a sudden mysterious explosion at Muhammad Ali Road in Township. The stage was also damaged. At least eight persons received injuries in the incident. Later, one of the wounded, identified as Hafiz Mahmood, succumbed to injuries. The injured were identified as Abdul Ghafoor, Ahsan, Abu Bakar, Afaq, Muhammad Aslam and Dilshad.

Rescue 1122 and law enforcement agencies, including senior police officers, rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to hospital. The investigation revealed that it was not a terrorist activity but a compressor of an air conditioner had exploded.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials said they could not find any traces of explosives from the site. They said deceased Hafiz Mahmood, a mechanic, was busy in his work when the incident occurred.

SUICIDE: A young woman allegedly commit suicide by swallowing poisonous pills at Sanda.

Police said Hina, 22, was depressed due to domestic issues and she consumed poisonous pills. She fell unconscious and was shifted to the hospital where she was declared dead.

A police team collected forensic evidences from crime scene and recorded statements of the eyewitnesses.

IGP: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Shoaib Dastagir directed all the regional police officers (RPOs) and district police officers (DPOs) to review the security plan of sensitive installations, religious places, educational institutes and public places. He also directed the officers to launch intelligence-based operations across the province against the anti-social and criminal elements.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2019