MANDI BAHAUDDIN : In a grim series of incidents highlighting severe public safety failures, three bodies were recovered from a manhole in Mandi Bahauddin late Thursday, just hours after a mother and her infant daughter fell into an open sewage manhole in Lahore.
The Mandi Bahauddin Police are investigating the recovery of the three bodies on Wasu Road. In a statement, the PTCL department claimed the deceased were thieves who had been stealing company cables while wearing fake PTCL jackets and were found inside the manhole. The exact circumstances of their deaths remain under investigation.
This discovery follows the heartbreaking Lahore incident near Bhati Gate Data Darbar, which has sparked a major political and administrative controversy. Contrary to initial claims by Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari that the report was “fake,” authorities have confirmed its tragic authenticity.
DIG Operations Lahore Muhammad Faisal Kamran stated that the body of the mother, Sadia, has been recovered from the sewage system. Rescue operations continue to search for her three-month-old daughter. The DIG confirmed that Safe City CCTV footage corroborated the account of Sadia’s husband, showing the family’s visit to the shrine and the tragic accident as they left. “Everything is preserved in the cameras,” he said.
The incident has triggered a high-level governmental response. Taking strict notice, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has formed an inquiry committee, suspended several officers for negligence, and demanded a report within 24 hours. DIG Kamran assured that strict action would be taken against anyone found responsible.
These back-to-back tragedies have ignited public outrage over the perilous state of public infrastructure and the dire consequences of administrative negligence.
