LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Punjab government and other respondents in a petition seeking action against those responsible for the deaths of a woman and her infant daughter, who fell into an open manhole near Bhatti Gate.
Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the petition filed by Aamna Malik and the Judicial Activism Panel. Representing the petitioners, Advocate Azhar Siddique told the court that incidents of citizens falling into open manholes were increasing, calling it a serious public safety concern.
He expressed regret that an open manhole had been left unattended in a densely populated area, terming it gross negligence. Siddique argued that the authorities had taken only superficial measures instead of fixing responsibility and taking action against those at fault.
The counsel urged the court to identify those responsible and order appropriate legal action.
During the hearing, the assistant attorney general contended that the federal government had been unnecessarily included as a respondent, as the matter fell under provincial jurisdiction. However, the judge observed that the court would also seek the federal government’s viewpoint.
After hearing preliminary arguments, the court directed all respondents to submit their replies by March 3.
Earlier, on the court’s instructions, the petitioner’s counsel removed the National Disaster Management Authority and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority from the list of respondents.
The incident occurred near Bhatti Gate at the site of the under-construction Data Darbar expansion project, where the mother and her 10-month-old child fell into an uncovered sewer. The woman’s body was recovered late the same night, while the infant’s body was retrieved the following day.
Officials of the contractor involved in the Data Darbar extension project were arrested over alleged negligence, and on January 31, a judicial magistrate granted a four-day physical remand of the suspects.
Separately, a high-powered police committee has launched a fact-finding inquiry into allegations of torture made by the woman’s husband.