TOBA TEK SINGH: The area recently witnessed a kidnapping for ransom incident involving Gojra’s Nadra assistant director Rana Fahim and his colleague Abdul Naveed.

Rana Mushtaq, father of Mr Fahim, confirmed that the kidnappers had initially demanded Rs5 million for their release. However, both were freed without payment of any ransom, thanks to a plan supervised by police officials.

On May 6, while returning home to Chak 47-GB from Gojra, Fahim and Naveed were abducted by unidentified people riding in a car.

The kidnappers demanded Rs5 million for their release.

Local media reports suggest that they were eventually freed after paying a ransom of Rs1.1 million.

The Tirkhani police registered a case against the unidentified culprits under section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

A police officer, when contacted, claimed that both people were released without paying any ransom.

The police have made several arrests and are confident that they will soon apprehend the actual abductors, according to the officer.

FACTORY FIRE: A fire broke out in a firework manufacturing factory near Chak 210 RB Lakhwana on Makkuana Bypass Road in Faisalabad, resulting in the death of Abid Hussain, a 22-year-old worker from Okara. The fire was caused by a short circuit.

The police arrested factory owner Abdul Ghafoor from Chak 229-RB.

In another incident, a fire erupted in block number one of the Shorkot forest on Shorkot City-Cantonment Road.

The fire destroyed hundreds of trees before it was brought under control after more than five hours. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and the Jhang district forest officer has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Surprisingly, the forest department employees extinguished the fire without seeking assistance from Rescue 1122 firefighters or the Shorkot municipal committee’s fire brigade.

ACCIDENT: Near Chak 128 GB in Faisalabad, a 12-year-old boy riding a motorcycle was hit by a tractor-trolley on Thursday evening.

The impact of the collision critically injured the boy, identified as Zain Ali from the same village, who succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

In another incident, Altaf Hussain drowned in the Gogera branch canal in Faisalabad near Chak 465-GB. While taking a bath in the canal, he unexpectedly got trapped in a deeper area and drowned.

The divers from Rescue 1122 retrieved the body from the canal.

These incidents serve as reminders of the importance of safety precautions and vigilance to avoid such tragic accidents.

SUSPENDED: Jhang District Police Officer Malik Tariq Mehboob suspended Ahmadpur Sial police SHO Sanaullah from service after a video and audio recording surfaced on social media allegedly showing him engaging in a conversation with a citizen using harsh language and displaying inappropriate behaviour.

The DPO directed the SP investigation to conduct an inquiry into the matter. The suspended SHO may face departmental accountability action based on the inquiry report and police rules.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2023