FIR registered 10 months after child’s death in manhole

Last year a six-year-old boy had fallen down an open manhole in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. More than 10 months after the incident, an FIR has been registered at the Aziz Bhatti police station on the complaint of the victim’s father Atif.

The case has been registered under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code against officials of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, including Executive Engineer Waqar and Engineer Aijaz Zaidi.

According to the FIR, on May 6, 2023, six-year-old Abiyan, son of Atifuddin, was playing cricket with his elder brother, 10-year-old Aaribuddin, and their neighbourhood friends in Block 13-D2, Rahman Square, Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

When their cricket ball went down the open manhole, Abiyan went to retrieve it. As he was standing near the manhole, he slipped and fell down it. The complainant has held the relevant authorities responsible for the incident.