Police have informed a sessions court that the parents of a three-year-old boy who died in an open manhole near Nipa in Gulshan-e-Iqbal do not want any legal action over the incident. Muhammad Ibrahim had drowned in the manhole outside a departmental store on November 30, and his body was recovered 15 hours later, triggering outrage over civic agencies’ failure to cover manholes across Karachi.
The Aziz Bhatti SHO submitted a report to the additional sessions judge (East) hearing an application filed by lawyer Sheikh Saqib Ahmed under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Ahmed sought the registration of an FIR against the proposed accused: the city mayor, the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation managing director, the Gulshan Town chairman and the Red Line contractor.
The SHO said in the report that Ibrahim fell into the manhole on the night of November 30, adding that his body was recovered after 15 hours and was handed over to his parents, who did not want any legal action.
He said the applicant lawyer has no blood relation with the child, adding that the child’s parents recorded their statement, according to which they do not want any legal proceedings. He concluded that no cognisable offence has been made out over the incident, terming it “an accident”.
Earlier, the applicant had said the child’s death in the open manhole and his body’s recovery after 15 hours demonstrates a clear failure of local authorities and emergency services. At least 23 people have lost their lives after falling into uncovered manholes in the city this year, he added.
