Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Police on Monday informed the Supreme Court of Pakistan that the Bahria Enclave stage collapse incident had been caused by “excited audience”.

Police also expressed its inability to fix responsibility for turning off lights immediately after the incident. In a report submitted to the SC, police stated that claims that the lights were turned off deliberately needed further investigation for reaching a conclusion.

“Whether the stage was properly prepared to sustain the estimated load or not is also a technical question. It will need input from some technical expert,” police said.

Nilore Police SHO submitted the seven-page report in compliance with the SC orders. On Friday, the apex court had taken notice of a special report published by Daily Times regarding the Bahria Enclave incident. During recording of a private TV channel programme, the stage collapsed causing deaths and injuries to many people.

“According to eye witnesses, participants of the show started dancing. Most of them tried to reach the stage. A number of youngsters started jumping on the stage. A part of it suddenly collapsed and resultantly the participants started running towards different directions to save themselves. Thus the whole stage collapsed,” the report claimed.

The witnesses’ statements, mentioned in the report, stated that there was no negligence on the part of any organization, including Bahria Town Administration, and it was an accident.

“During initial probe, it has also come to light that about 134 persons received injuries. They were taken to various hospitals for medical treatment. Out of these, 124 received minor injuries and 10 received serious injuries,” the report stated.

“Sameena Adnan, who succumbed to her injuries, prior to her death, recorded her statement at the hospital. She said that she and her family did not want to pursue the case as it was accidental,” the police report claimed.

The report claimed that none of the injured had come forward to submit an application for initiating any legal proceedings against the administration. “No relative of the injured submitted any written application in Nilore Police Station for initiating legal action against anyone. No one approached the investigating officer for recording his or her statement till the lodging of the FIR, except for one Hamayun Iqbal Shami who submitted a written application for initiating legal proceedings,” the report said.

Contrary to police claims at least 10 affected families have also approached the apex court to bring further facts on record for the consideration of Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

They said that the event was sponsored by Bahria Enclave. “This fact is mentioned in invitation passes issued to people in return for Rs 2,500 each. Not only did the stage collapse, but the seating stand, where approximately 3,500 people were sitting, also came down,” they said.

“Most of the participants received severe injuries. Many of them were trapped inside the wreck. Instead of providing rescue and relief, the management immediately turned off the lights of the venue, making it difficult for us to not only to rescue ourselves, but also our relatives trapped inside wreckage. We firmly believe that many of our injuries were worsened due to this deliberate act by the management,” the application stated.

“The management first claimed that the incident had occurred due to an earthquake. However, this later proved to be wrong. Soon after the incident, the management and staff of the private channel hosting the show ran away. Security guards helped some of the people on their own,” the application stated.

It further stated that a majority of the participants went to the hospital on their own. “Many suffered spinal injuries were worsened due to non-availability of ambulance as people had to walk to their vehicles parked at a considerable distance,” the application stated.

According to the applicants, the total number of victims was 175. The applicants also criticised the attitude of Al-Shifa Hospital. “Their staff demanded exorbitant fees prior to treatment. Some of the injured deposited their CNICs in order to get emergency aid. Despite taking x-rays, the doctors in PIMS and Shifa adjudged the victims fit to be discharged forthwith. Many victims, through second opinion in other hospitals, later realised that they had suffered serious injuries including fractures. It appears that the doctors and hospital management were under instructions to forcibly discharge the patients regardless of the nature of their injuries,” the application stated.

They further stated that they had registered an FIR in Nilore Police Station against the management of Bahria Town and the private TV channel. “However, police is pressuring us to reach a compromise,” they said.