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Thursday, December 05, 2024  
03 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

One body remains unidentified following Kallar Kahar bus crash

Survivors allege bus was not fully fit when it was departing the Rawalpindi bus station, says complaint
A picture of the bus accident on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway near Kallar Kahar on June 17, 2023. Photo via Rescue 1122
A picture of the bus accident on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway near Kallar Kahar on June 17, 2023. Photo via Rescue 1122

The authorities have handed over the bodies of 11 killed in the Kallar Kahar bus crash to their families after identification, while the body of a woman is yet to be identified, an official said.

“Of the 12 dead bodies, 11 were handed over to families after identification, but one woman is yet to be identified. The body has been kept in the morgue of DHQ Chakwal,” Chakwal Deputy Commissioner Quratulain Malik tweeted on Sunday.

“If you know the passengers of the bus, please help us to take this deceased to her loved ones. In case of any information, Dr Saddam Hussain can be contacted on 03322212760,” she added.

Two children and three women were among 12 killed and 22 wounded when a passenger bus, en route to Rawalpindi from Jhang, met with an accident near the Salt Range at Kallar Kahar on Saturday.

The Chakwal deputy commissioner blamed brake failure for the accident. A total of 34 passengers were on the bus.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged on Sunday the Motorway authorities to ensure that vehicles travelling on the motorway are passable and that drivers meet all driving standards.

Interim Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi and Governor Balighur Rehman were grieved to hear about the accident. He offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.

Naqvi called for an inquiry into it.

Motorway Police Officer Muhammad Bilal at the Kallar Kahar police station filed a criminal complaint against the bus driver and its owner, among others on Sunday.

The first information report (FIR) named the bus driver, bus owner, manager of the Rawalpindi station (from where the bus departed), manager of the bus company’s station, and the motor vehicle examiner as those who are responsible for the accident.

The FIR was filed under sections 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 337G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), and 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed In consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complaint said that upon inquiring, the survivors alleged the bus was “not fully fit” when it was departing the Rawalpindi bus station.

The FIR quoted them as saying that they informed the driver; the bus owner; and the Rawalpindi station manager, about the vehicle’s “fault”. But the men told the driver that the bus “was fit to be driven”.

Regardless, the complaint went on to state that the driver was also to be held responsible for the accident as the bus was not running in a fit condition even when on its way to Islamabad.

“This accident occurred due to the above-mentioned driver’s negligence, carelessness and speeding, as well as due to driving the vehicle at the behest of the bus owner and the station manager,” said the complaint.

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