LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has declared a traffic warden who had died in a road accident while on duty in 2017 “shaheed” (martyr).

Muhammad Shafique was appointed traffic warden (BS-14) in 2006 in Faisalabad and served the department for 11 years. On Feb 11, 2017, he was on duty when a dumper truck knocked him down and he succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the truck fled the scene and his driving licence was found to be bogus.

The Millat Town police registered a case under sections 420, 468, 471 of PPC.

Shafique’s widow Firdous Shafique submitted two applications to the Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) requesting to declare her late husband “shaheed”. A DSP appointed by the IGP to hold an inquiry into the matter approved that the deceased traffic warden was a martyr and later, another inquiry held by an SSP rank officer also declared that the late husband of the petitioner was entitled to the benefits of a martyr.

His family becomes entitled to certain benefits

However, the additional IGP for finance & welfare had not treated the deceased as martyr and awarded compensation to the tune of Rs600,000 to the widow.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi observed that as per the death certificate Shafique died an unnatural death. He noted that the Faisalabad chief traffic officer also recommended that since the warden had died in the line of duty, therefore, he be declared “shaheed”.

The judge remarked that the additional IGP for finance & welfare disagreed with the inquiry reports without giving reasons.

Under the police rules, an official/officer killed in encounters, bomb blast, riots, watch & ward duties, but not death caused in accident, shall be awarded Rs2 million compensation.

Justice Najafi ruled that the deceased died during watch & ward duties in an accident which was reported under section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code, therefore, it was not accidental death. The judge allowed the petition of the widow and declared that the late traffic warden was a martyr and entitled to all consequential benefits.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2020