SAHIWAL: Three people, including a motorcyclist and a woman, died and seven critically injured in a collision between two buses near overhead bridge, West Bypass, on Multan-Sahiwal Road on Wednesday morning.

Rescue 1122 sources said the deceased were identified as Muhammad Amin (60), the driver of the AC bus, passenger Musarat Bibi (35) and biker Ali Hyder (16) who became trapped in the collision.

Eyewitnesses said the non-AC bus tried to negotiate a wrong U-turn and was severely hit by the AC bus coming from the opposite direction. It was further stated that Ali Hyder initially avoided one of the buses but ended up between the two and was run over and killed.

The injured were identified as Azeem (45), Ghulam Fatima (65), Umer Farooq (37), Abdul Ghaffar (55), Sharif Ahmed (10), Maroosha Fatima (16), Abdullah (15), Rafey Ahmed (10), and Sajjad Ahmad (35).

Ghala Mandi police have arrested the driver of the non-AC bus and initiated an investigation into the incident.

ENCOUNTER: Two dacoits were killed and one managed to escape during an encounter with Chak Badian Police in Tehsil Pakpattan on Wednesday morning.

According to ASI of Chak Badian Police Mr Munir, the encounter lasted for 30 minutes. The police found two bodies, one on Saale Village Road and the other in nearby maize fields. Two pistols, a CNIC belonging to a Sahiwal-based citizen and a motorcycle were recovered from the scene.

The motorcycle had reportedly been snatched a week earlier in the vicinity of Saddar Police Station, Pakpattan, while the CNIC belonged to a man who had been robbed in the Farid Town Police limits, Sahiwal, also a week ago.

Reports said police received an emergency call via helpline 15 that three armed dacoits were looting villagers near Chak Nizam. During the robbery, the dacoits shot at and injured villager Jamal Din in the lower abdomen when he resisted.

The police chased the three suspects near Saale Village. The dacoits opened fire upon spotting the police, prompting the officials to retaliate. One dacoit was shot and fell on the road, while the other two fled into the maize fields, leaving their motorcycle.

The police chased them, killing one more suspect in the fields, while the third managed his escape.

No policeman was injured during the encounter.

The police identified one of the deceased dacoits as Muhammad Shabir, a resident of 201/EB, Tehsil Burewala. Efforts are under way to identify the second deceased suspect.

The bodies were sent for autopsy to DHQ Hospital, Pakpattan.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024