Update: Another suspect named Ibrahim, a friend of the teenage boy Afnan, also sitting in the car with him when the car got into an accident in Defence Phase 7 has been arrested by the police.
According to a report by the Dawn News, four of the friends were there in the car when the tragic accident took place. They were Saad, Ali and Ibrahim along the prime accused Afnan.
The police has started the process of Ossification to determine the age of the suspect. Lahore Investigation DIG Imran Kishwar said the decision was made following the conflicting reports/claims either he was underage or a teen. Initially, the police were told that the prime suspect was 17 years old, he said.
The Ossification is a test that determines age based on the degree of fusion of bone by taking the x-ray of a few bones. This process of the bone formation is based on the fusion of joints between birth and the age of 25 years in an individual.
The Case:
The police added terrorism and murder charges to the already registered case against a teenage boy who killed six of a family in DHA Phase 7, Lahore. On the other hand, head of the family who was in the other car expressed his disappointment over this new development. Rafaqat Ali claims that the boy killed his family members over a grudge.
He alleges that the boy was not alone at the time when he ‘deliberately’ hit the car of his family while driving his four-wheeler at high speed (over 100 km/h) at Phase VII. He also mentioned that the two other accomplices were also accompanying him in the car at the time of the incident, reports Dawn.
The prime suspect had a prior brawl with his family members when they chased his car on the road, to which he demanded the addition of more sections to the FIR to punish all the suspects.
The Police has stated that the boy was chasing the family in the car and on interruption at a point he had threatened the family that he would not let them drive in DHA’s jurisdiction, another act that reflected his ‘mindset’.
The police had sent notices to the accomplices as mentioned in Rafaqat’s statement.
New revelations are coming up as the investigation continues in the case of a teenage boy who killed six people of a family in a road accident in DHA Lahore.
Crackdown on Young drivers
In light of the accident, the Lahore chief traffic officer (CTO) said the police lodged 998 cases against underage drivers during the last three days and sent many of them behind bars, besides seizing their vehicles, including motorbikes.
Caretaker CM Naqvi also issued a directive to be strict against underage drivers.
The proceedings of the case up till now
Previously, In a geo.tv report, Azam Malik reported that the teenage boy, Afnan, was stalking the car of the deceased victims after he had a brawl with them. The driver of the car Hasnain, reprimanded Afnan for harassing the women travelling with him, raising the speed to dodge Afnan but the boy kept following him.
A third car that was following them was being driven by Hasnain’s father. At some point, near Y Block’s Nala, the two of them stopped the car to scold Afnan but the boy remained adamant and cursed at the two in response.
The stance of the Punjab government
The Punjab government has stated that Afnan hit Hasnain’s vehicle near McDonald Chowk in Phase 7 at a speed of 160 km/hr. As a result, Hasnain’s car overturned and fell some 70 feet away. Four people came to rescue Afnan but left him after seeing the rage of the crowd. Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has told IG Punjab to add sections of terrorism against the accused.
The proceedings of the Court
The family of the victims have alleged that the police is not cooperating with them. Previously, the judicial magistrate at Cantonment Courts on Tuesday sent the boy to jail on judicial remand whereas the police asked for a physical remand. The counsel for the suspect denied the charges, leading to the magistrate turning down the police’s request.
The catch in the case
The case lodged by the police is in line with the statements of the witnesses that the boy was driving the car alone which led to the accident, claiming the lives of six people including two children but a video statement released by the Lahore Traffic Police on Twitter showed the boy himself claiming that he and his friends were going to the McDonalds in Phase Seven in a high speed when they hit the victim’s car.
Read More: Boy who killed six of a family in accident says he was going to have McDonald’s
