TIPA deputy director suspended as body of woman who fell in gutter in Lahore found

On the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who took notice of the deaths of a woman and her 10-month-old baby girl after they fell in a gutter near Bhatti Gate in Lahore, Secretary Housing Noorul Amin Mengal on Thursday suspended Deputy Director (DD) TIPA Shabbir Hussain, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Meanwhile, the body of the woman has been found. The body of 24-year-old Sadia was found from a sewerage line on Outfall Road.

However, search for her 10-month-old baby girl was continuing till last reports came in.

On the other hand, the husband and two brothers of the woman who had been taken into custody for questioning were released after their statements were recorded.

DIG Operation Faisal Kamran’s talk

Also on Thursday, DIG Operation Faisal Kamran said that a high-level committee had been constituted to identify those whose negligence led to the incident.

He further said that an FIR of the incident would be registered if the deceased woman’s family would push for it.

He said that the footage obtained from the CCTV cameras had proved that all those things which the victim’s husband had said were true.

Prior to the recovery of the woman’s body, rescue sources had expressed doubts about the initial claim.

They stated that it was technically unlikely for a person to fall in the specific sewer opening identified in Parinda Market near Data Darbar.

According to rescue officials, the site had been previously excavated by the administration, and the area was dark at the time of the incident. Specialized teams from Rescue 1122 and divers reached the location within minutes of receiving the alert.

The Lahore administration also conducted an inspection of the sewer line and reported that there was no evidence suggesting that an accident had occurred at the identified spot.

Meanwhile, the missing woman’s father told police that he suspected his daughter had been murdered. Following his statement, police detained three people, including the woman’s husband, for questioning. However, they were later released after preliminary investigation.

Reporters: Ibrahim Qureshi and Israr Khan