Three alleged cable thieves died of suffocation while three others were rescued after being trapped inside a Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) manhole in Mandi Bahauddin.

 

 

According to Sub-Inspector Riasat Ali, spokesperson for the Mandi Bahauddin police, a PTCL official contacted the police helpline shortly after midnight to report that the cover of a PTCL manhole on Wasu Road had been partially removed.

 

 

Responding to the call, a police team reached the site and found three young men, later identified as Bilal, Zahid and Adeel, stealing PTCL’s underground cables with a cutter. All three belonged to Alipur tehsil in Muzaffargarh district.

 

 

During questioning, the suspects informed police that three of their accomplices had entered another nearby PTCL manhole to carry out the theft.

 

 

Upon searching the second manhole, police discovered all three youths lying unconscious. Rescue 1122 was immediately called to the scene. After examining the victims, all three were declared dead due to suffocation.

 

 

The deceased were identified as Shahbaz (21), Shan (23) and another young man whose identity could not be confirmed immediately. Police said all three also hailed from Alipur, Muzaffargarh district.

 

 

The bodies were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Mandi Bahauddin, where postmortem examinations were conducted before the bodies were handed over to their families.

 

 

Meanwhile, Civil Lines Police Station in Mandi Bahauddin registered separate cases against the suspects as well as PTCL contractors Hazoor Bukhash and Younis, both residents of Muzaffargarh currently living in Islamabad.

 

 

The cases were registered under Sections 322, 379 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), along with Section 25-A of the Telegraph Act 1885, on the complaint of PTCL Manager Kashif Hafeez.