Another rickshaw driver attempts self-immolation

Driven to desperation due to poverty, another rickshaw driver attempted to commit suicide in the Khamosh Colony of North Nazimabad on Thursday, three days after a driver had died after immolating himself to protest traffic police demands for bribes.

Shahid Majeed set his rickshaw on fire and sprinkled oil on his body to burn himself, but onlookers intervened and stopped him. A video of the incident that went viral on the social media showed that Shahid burned his rickshaw on a busy road.

“I am fed up with this life where I have no money to pay the rent of my house and for the treatment of my blind children. In this country, the CNG [compressed natural gas] shortage has become a routine matter,” he said.

Police and fire brigade reached the site and extinguished the fire. DSP Wajahat Hussain said the driver had been taken into custody, and further investigations were under way. No case had been registered against the driver till the filing of this report.

Shahid said the rickshaw was his only hope but daily closure of CNG had become a problem and it was becoming difficult for him to run his family. I was unable to get any passengers because the CNG stations were closed every other day. “I had no option and I attempted to commit suicide.” The driver and his family appealed to the government to help them get out of the crisis.