MULTAN: Police have arrested a man accused of chasing and running over a 15-year-old orphan with his car at a private housing society in Multan after the teenager left work at the suspect’s residence.
A murder case has been registered against the suspect, identified as Tauqeer, while investigators are probing the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.
The victim, Waseem, was living at an orphanage operated by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Multan City Police Officer Akhtar Farooq said the orphanage administration had sent the teenager to Tauqeer seven days earlier to receive vocational training.
According to the police officer, Tauqeer worked as an electrician at various buildings and was training Waseem in the trade.
Police said the boy left the work, following which the suspect allegedly pursued him in his car. CCTV footage reportedly shows Waseem running away before being struck by the vehicle.
Initial investigations have found no evidence suggesting that the teenager was involved in theft, police said.
Orphanage officials questioned
Police have taken some members of the orphanage administration into custody for questioning as investigators examine the case.
Farooq said children from the institution had previously been sent to the suspect for vocational training. Investigators are now looking into the arrangements under which Waseem was sent to work with Tauqeer and what transpired before the fatal incident.
The murder case has been registered, with the police acting as the complainant, the city police chief said.
Teenager laid to rest in native village
Waseem belonged to Muzaffargarh. Following the incident, his body was taken to his native area by his uncle and maternal uncle.
His funeral prayer was offered in Daultpur village, where he was subsequently buried in the ancestral graveyard. According to reports, only close family members and officials from the orphanage attended the funeral.
The burial was carried out promptly because of the condition of the body, the reports added.
Police said further investigation was under way to establish the full circumstances of the incident and determine responsibility.
