TOBA TEK SINGH: Two sanitary workers were asphyxiated by toxic gases in a manhole near Punj Pullian locality in Faisalabad on Sunday.

They were identified as Asif Moon Maseeh (25) and Shan Maseeh (23), residents of Chak-10/JB Kurrianwala.

Rescue 1122 said they stepped into a choked manhole of the sewerage outside a wedding hall to clear it but both of them fainted due to toxic gases as soon as they entered it. When the rescuers pulled them out, they had already died.

A Faisalabad Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) spokesperson said although both the sanitary workers were Wasa employees, the Sapphire Marque Management had hired both of them privately to clear its choked sewage pipeline in its walled area. He said cleaning of private sewerage was not the responsibility of Wasa.

The spokesman said Asif was posted at the Gulshan Colony disposal station while Shan Maseeh was performing duty at Chohhar Majra disposal station.

BURNT ALIVE: A married woman was burnt alive in a fire at her house at Chak 389-GB of tehsil Samundri.

Rescue 1122 officials said deceased Sofia Bibi (20), wife of Muhammad Anwar, was asleep in her room when the fire broke out due to unknown reasons. Locals and firefighters extinguished the fire but Sofia had already been burnt alive. Samundri City police shifted her body to the tehsil headquarters hospital for autopsy.

Meanwhile, a car driver died instantly after his car rammed into a truck on the Chhota Sadhar bypass on the Jhang Road. Rescue 1122 report said the truck was parked by the roadside while the car driver failed to stop his car due to speeding. As a result, his car hit the truck.

The car rider, Ali Raza (43), was going from Jhang to Faisalabad. His body was pulled out after cutting the car’s steel body.

RAPED: A man allegedly raped a minor boy at Mouza Kuriwala in the Qadirpur Police Station area of Jhang.

According to the FIR registered under Section 376 of the PPC, Sajid Abbas said his four years old son was playing in the street when the suspect lured him to wheat fields and raped him. Police spokesperson said the suspect had been arrested.

KILLED: A farmer killed his neighbour over irrigation water for their crops at Mauza Kacha Rashidpur in tehsil Athara Hazari of Jhang early in the morning.

After an exchange of harsh words, Muzaffar Sipra overpowered Nawaz Bulwa and strangled him on the spot.

In another incident, one Rehan Riaz tortured Sajid to death over a dispute while playing billiard in a club at Zeeshan Colony of Kamalia.

ROBBERY: A dozen robbers took away a large quantity of grocery items from two shops at Gojra on Moongi Bangla Adda early on Sunday.

Shopkeepers said the robbers snatched a gun from the security guard, tied him with ropes and put ghee, cooking oil, sugar and other goods worth more than Rs2m in a mini-truck. They drove away with grocery items. The shopkeepers came to know about the robbery when they their shops in the morning and found their security guard tied with ropes. A police post was also located near the robbery site.

ARRESTED: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested five persons involved in Hundi and illegal currency exchange business.

An FIA spokesperson identified those arrested as Mohsin, Ali Hamza, Irfan, Fazal and Ali Nawaz who were arrested in a raid from the Dubai Garden locality of Sahiwal. He said laptops, mobile phones and record of unlawful transactions had also been recovered from their custody.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2024