BAHAWALPUR: The district has registered a fall in the crime rate during the first half of 2025 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Bahawalpur DPO Muhammad Hassan Iqbal told Dawn that there was a 31pc reduction in the crime rate during the past six months under the Punjab government’s Safe Punjab Vision.

He said there was a 100pc reduction in kidnap for ransom cases, dacoity (70pc), murder (33pc), child abuse (16pc), recovery of ice heroin (76pc), recovery of opium (88pc), arrest of POs (71pc), LPG refilling (75pc) and vehicles snatching (15pc).

The DPO claimed the ‘remarkable improvement’ in curbing crime reflected the performance of the police. Efforts to maintain this trend would be continued by the police, he added.

GREEN TRACTORS: As many as 35 farmers were handed over tractors worth Rs90 million through balloting under the Green Tractor Scheme of the Punjab chief minister’s Grow More Wheat Programme in a ceremony on Saturday.

The distribution ceremony was held under the auspices of the Agriculture department and was chaired by MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar.

MPAs Dr Rana Muhammad Tariq Khan, Khalid Mahmood Jajja, Sardar Khalid Mahmood Warren, Deputy Commissioner Dr Farhan Farooq, Bahawalpur Division Agriculture Director Hafiz Jamil Ahmed Ghauri and others distributed the keys among the lucky winners.

ACCIDENT: A woman, Aisha Akhtar (18), was killed while three others Sadiq (35), Saeedan Bibi (48) and Bakhtawar Bibi (14) suffered serious injuries when their motorcycle was hit by a speeding truck on Mundhali Mor, JPP Road, near Lodhran.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family, while the injured were shifted to the Lodhran DHQ Hospital.

The truck driver managed to flee from the scene and authorities were trying to nab him.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2025