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Father of six hit to death in North Cantonment

By Arshad Dogar
April 08, 2017

LAHORE

A daughter of an army officer hit a father of six to death when he was crossing a road along with his family near Askari-9 in the North Cantt police limits on Friday morning. 

Police have registered a case against the accused driver, who said to be a student.

Police have yet to arrest her as she fled the scene and later was admitted to CMH. Police instead of arresting her have allegedly started pressurising the victim’s family for a compromise with the accused. The victim was identified as Muhammad Ashraf, a resident of Nizamabad in the Guldasht Town police limits. He was a garments seller and the sole breadwinner of the family.

The victim is survived by three daughters,  three sons and a widow. The victim’s nephew, Tariq, told The News that his uncle was on his way along with his aunt (victim’s wife) and a son by foot to leave his family in Askari-X.

As they tried to cross the road, a speeding black car bearing number plate LEC-4529 hit him from the behind. As a result, the victim flew into the air and fell down many feet away. He received multiple injuries and died on the spot. He was rushed to General Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead. 

However, the victim’s wife and son remained unhurt. Meanwhile, the accused driver fled the scene by leaving her car behind. Police after being informed reached the scene, collected evidence and recorded statements of eyewitnesses. They also impounded the car and retrieved data of the car owner from the Excise Department. Police have yet to check whether the car driver had a driving licence or not.

Police registered an FIR number 568/17 under section 322 of PPC on the complaint of victim’s wife Noshi Ashraf against Manam Nadeem, daughter of Brig. Nadeem. The victim’s family gathered on the spot and staged a protest demonstration. They demanded immediate arrest of the accused driver. The North Cantt SHO assured them of justice after which the protesters dispersed.

The victim’s family alleged the SHO and his staff had started pressurising them for a compromise with the accused family. One of the cops also suggested that after a patch-up the army officer could help get a job for the victim’s son. Moreover, two army men also reached the home of the victim and offered financial help for burial but the family refused. The family questioned whether the police action would have been the same if a poor driver had killed a  member of an influential family. They demanded justice saying any financial help cannot compensate their loss. 

SHO Arshad Latif denied the allegations, saying they had registered an FIR and action would be taken under the law. He added cops had been deployed at CMH to record the statement of the girl and to take her into custody. Sources said police had also been facilitating the accused for pre-arrest bail. SP Cantt Rana Tahir said police had been verifying whether she had a licence or not. He added police would not pressurise the victim’s family for a patch-up.