A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court against the Punjab Information Minister on Friday, and other relevant officers in the incident of a mother and daughter falling into an open manhole near Bhati Gate in Lahore.

The Punjab government, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and other relevant institutions have also been made parties in the petition.

The petitioner argues that leaving the manhole open in a highly populated area is tantamount to serious negligence, as a result of which the mother and daughter lost their lives.

The petition has demanded that the Information Minister conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and take action against the officers involved.

The court has been requested to take appropriate remedial action for the accident that occurred due to this negligence and to take effective steps to prevent such dangers in the future.

The five accused in the Bhati Gate case in Lahore have been placed on a four-day physical remand, while a high-level police Internal Accountability Committee has completed an inquiry into the illegal detention and torture of the deceased woman’s husband, Ghulam Murtaza.

The inquiry found that SP City Bilal and SHO Bhati Zain mishandled the incident, illegally detaining Murtaza for 5.5 hours and lightly torturing him in the SHO’s office.

Video footage from the SHO’s room confirmed the treatment. Officers reportedly pressured Murtaza to accept a murder charge and took unprofessional actions toward him and his relatives, including Tanveer, who was also held at the police station.

The report recommended departmental action against both officers.

The inquiry team recorded Murtaza’s statement in Shorkot, noting that rescue agencies had indicated a woman couldn’t drown in the manhole where the incident occurred.

The final inquiry report has been submitted to IG Punjab, who will forward it to the Chief Minister.