Lahore manhole case: Court grants bail after heirs pardon suspects

A Lahore court has granted bail to five suspects linked to the Bhati Gate manhole tragedy after the complainants said they had forgiven the accused and no longer wished to pursue the case.

The case was registered after a woman, identified as Sadia, and her 10-month-old daughter, Rida Fatima, reportedly fell into a sewer line and died last month. Police had arrested multiple individuals on allegations of negligence.

During proceedings before Judicial Magistrate Shafqat Abbas, the complainant told the court that the suspects had been pardoned “in the name of Allah” after compensation was arranged. The victims’ heirs also informed the court that a written compromise had been signed and they had no objection to the suspects being discharged or acquitted.

Accepting the compromise, the court ordered the release of the suspects on bail upon submission of surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

Earlier, on January 31, the court had approved a four-day physical remand for the suspects, including a project manager associated with work on the Data Darbar extension project, after police sought additional time for questioning. Defence counsel had maintained the incident was tragic but argued the accused were not directly responsible, adding that compensation had been provided to the family.