LAHORE: A Dyal Singh College teacher died when a metallic kite string ran across his neck near Ichhra on Ferozepur Road here on Friday.

The incident occurred when Aftab Ahmad was on his way to the college in the morning.

Some witnesses said as Ahmad reached the Ichhra flyover, the string got entangled around his neck and left a deep wound. On finding him severely injured, some motorists called the police and Rescue 1122 and one filmed the scene.

The mobile phone video went viral on social media, showing the critically injured lecturer waiting for help. The five-minute video further showed most of the motorists gathered around Ahmad acting as silent spectators instead of taking him to hospital. A little later, he was taken to a local hospital by a motorist where he died.

Ahmad was a resident of Kanganpur, Kasur.

His death exposed the police’s negligence once again, while the Punjab government also seemed reluctant to take action against the authorities who usually made their subordinates scapegoats.

Following Friday’s incident also, the police command issued suspension orders for the station house officer (SHO) concerned instead of holding the senior officers responsible.

The capital city police officer (CCPO) suspended the SHO from service and issued a show-cause notice to the Ichhra circle deputy superintendent of police and the Model Town division superintendent of police.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of Ahmad’s death and ordered the CCPO to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Injured: Two passersby suffered bullet injuries in an encounter between police and suspected robbers at Harbanspura here on Friday.

According to witnesses, the incident occurred when armed police personnel stopped two suspected men for identification. Instead of following instructions, they said, the suspects tried to flee and also opened fire on police. The policemen retaliated and two passersby Waqar and Shahzad suffered injuries. They were later shifted to hospital where the condition of one of them was stated to be serious.

A police official said police arrested one of the suspected robbers following a brief chase and exchange of fire. A team has been dispatched to raid and arrest the fleeing robber, he said, adding that a case had been registered against both the armed men.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2021