Bhaati Gate Tragedy: Court grants four-day remand of officials in mother, infant death case

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Saturday approved a four-day physical remand of five officials arrested in connection with the deaths of a woman and her 10-month-old daughter, who fell into an uncovered manhole near Bhaati Gate earlier this week.

The victims had plunged into an open sewer at the site of the under-construction Data Darbar expansion project on Wednesday. The woman’s body was recovered later that night, while the infant’s body was retrieved on Thursday.

Police produced the suspects before Judicial Magistrate Shafqat Abbas at the district courts and sought a 14-day physical remand to complete investigations. The defence opposed the request, arguing that physical custody was unnecessary.

Counsel for the accused told the court that Rs10 million had been paid to the bereaved family on humanitarian grounds and submitted a photocopy of the cheque. He acknowledged the tragic nature of the incident.

After hearing arguments, the magistrate granted a four-day remand and directed police to complete investigations and present the suspects again on February 3.

In the written order, the court also instructed the investigating officer to probe possible “contributory negligence” of officials from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the civil administration responsible for overseeing the construction project at the site.

The incident has once again highlighted the dangers posed by uncovered manholes. Last month, a seven-year-old boy died after falling into an open sewer in Bahawalpur’s Dhanote town, while a three-year-old boy was killed in a similar incident in Karachi’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal area.