NAROWAL: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz visited Kartarpur on Thursday via helicopter and she was not travelling with a motorcade at the time of an accident, which claimed the life of a youth in Narowal, the provincial government said on Friday.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the CM had taken notice of the youth’s death and ordered immediate action, issuing directions for the identification of the car involved in the accident and the arrest of the culprits.

The spokesperson said that police, on the orders of the CM, had registered a case and launched an investigation into the man’s death.

According to initial reports and eyewitness accounts, 23-year-old filling station worker Muhammad Abubakar had died after allegedly being hit by an Elite Force vehicle, said to be part of the chief minister’s convoy.

Spox says case registered over youth’s death; police say inquiry launched against driver of ‘official vehicle’

The incident took place at the Chandowal Stop on the Shakargarh Road, en route to Kartarpur, where the CM had attended Baisakhi celebrations on the same day. The government, however, has rejected these reports.

Meanwhile, Abubakar was laid to rest in his native village following funeral prayers.

Narowal DSP Malik Muhammad Khalil said they had obtained the CCTV footage of the incident, claiming that Abubakar could be seen fell on the ground after being hit by an unidentified motorcyclist before he had a fatal collision with a government vehicle.

DPO Naveed Malik said the search was on for the unidentified motorcyclist, but so far they had not got any information about him. He claimed that a departmental inquiry had been launched against the driver of the government vehicle that hit Abubakar.

DC Syed Hasan Raza said a proposal had been sent to the government for financial support of the family of the deceased.

But Ali Rizwan, a cousin of the deceased, told Dawn nobody from the government contacted the family.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2024