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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Rickshaw driver who set himself on fire dies

By Our Correspondent
October 23, 2018

The rickshaw driver who set himself on fire to protest a traffic police officer’s extortion succumbed to his injuries on Monday. Although the deceased was laid to rest, the police have registered a case against him for committing suicide.

Twenty eight-year-old Muhammad Khalid Yousuf, a rickshaw driver by profession, set himself on fire outside the Karachi Police Office in Saddar late Saturday night to protest against a traffic police officer, ASI Muhammad Hanif of Saddar Traffic police Section, who fined him when he didn’t pay a bribe.

After being treated for two days at the Burns Ward of the Civil Hospital, Karachi, Khalid succumbed to his injuries on Monday. His body was later handed over to the family for burial. His funeral prayers were offered at a mosque near his residence in Model Colony and later he was laid to rest at a graveyard in Model Colony. Aside from his family members, relatives and neighbours, a large number of politicians, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khurram Sher Zaman, MPA Raja Azhar and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s senior leader Rana Ahsan also attended the funeral.

The mourners also staged a protest against the tragic incident as well as the traffic police outside the Model Colony graveyard which caused a massive traffic jam. They held placards and shouted slogans against the traffic police. A large number of Rangers and police also reached the protest site and dispersed the protesters after assuring them of cooperation.

Speaking to the media after attending the funeral, PTI leader Khurram Sher Zaman said that the police forced poor people, especially drivers, to pay them extortion money. “The deceased rickshaw driver was forced to commit suicide as he was extorted at least three times after being targeted,” Zaman said. “My question to the police is that how many MNAs, MPAs and luxury vehicles have been fined? Only the middle-class people are being targeted.”

He said that it is a routine in Karachi that the traffic police lifts motorcycles and then releases them after getting extortion money from the motorcyclists. Zaman also appealed to the provincial government to conduct a transparent inquiry into the matter. “I promise the heirs of the deceased rickshaw driver that I will help them in getting justice,” he said, adding that he would also provide them a lawyer if they needed, and would also approach the Sindh IGP and Karachi Additional IG.

On the other hand, the police have registered two cases at the Saddar police station. According to Saddar SHO Shabbir Haider, an FIR No. 273/18 was registered for suicide while an FIR No. 274/18 was registered against a traffic police official for asking for bribes and causing the suicide. The officer said that the accused traffic police official, Hanif, has been arrested, and in his initial statement said that he fined the rickshaw driver as he didn’t have documents.