Underage driver arrested for killing one, injuring two in Lahore
LAHORE: Police arrested a 14-year-old boy on Sunday night after he recklessly drove a car, crashing into three motorcycles and killing a young man on the spot in Shahdara Town. Two others sustained injuries, one of them critically.
In a related development, the Lahore investigation SSP suspended an investigator for allegedly misbehaving with the victim’s family when they approached him for the timely postmortem examination of the body.
The accident came to the limelight when footage of the car went viral on social media.
According to police, the underage driver, identified as Hashir Ali — a Grade 7 student — was driving at over 120kph on a road leading to a village in Shahdara when he struck the motorcycles. The deceased was identified as Malik Amin, while his brother Malik Farid was among the injured.
Investigator suspended for ‘misbehaviour with victim’s family’
The injured were rushed to a local hospital where the condition of one of them was stated to be critical due to head injuries.
After receipt of information, SP Bilal Ahmad and other police officials rushed to the site, got the underage driver arrested and seized the car.
The police expanded the scope of investigation, examined the nearby cameras installed privately and those managed by the Safe City Authority besides reaching to the family of the arrested boy.
Sharing details of the initial findings, the SP said Hashir was living with his maternal grandmother after the separation of his parents following domestic issues.
He said Hashir’s mother had contracted a second marriage while his father, who runs a private business, left him to be looked after by his (boy’s) grandmother.
The grandmother of the boy was living in a rented house, Bilal said, adding that on Sunday night Hashir picked up the keys of the car.
The car belonged to the owner of the house Khurram Ijaz who was holding a key position at a pharmaceutical company.
The SP added Khurram Ijaz had gone to the house of his sister in Ravi Road area at the time when Hashir took his car to the road.
He said the teen first hit a cyclist after exiting the parking stand and then ran over three motorbikes.
The boy escaped unhurt in the accident which, however, led to the death of a young man on the spot and injuries to two others.
“We immediately seized the car, arrested the underage driver and lodged a case against him,” the SP said adding that the case was transferred to the investigation wing police for further action.
There were reports that the victim’s family and other local residents lodged a protest outside the Shahdara Town police station alleging that the investigation officer misbehaved with the complainant of the FIR when he demanded autopsy of the body.
Lahore Investigation SSP Mohammad Naveed confirmed to Dawn saying the investigator mishandled the matter when the complainant approached him.
Following the complaint, he said, he ordered immediate suspension of investigation the officer and reassigned the case to the investigation station in-charge for further proceedings.
UNDERAGE DRIVING: In the past, a fatal accident which claimed lives of six members of a family, including two infants and two women in Defence Phase 7 in Nov 2023, had sparked outrage when a speeding car driven by a teenage boy rammed into their vehicle.
The family was reportedly returning home in two cars after visiting relatives in Shadab Colony on Ferozpur Road. As they reached near a roundabout, the car driven by a teenage boy rammed into their vehicle. The collision was so intense that the vehicle overturned and was badly damaged.
This incident had led to a high-level meeting in the Lahore police where the senior police officers issued an order for action at a large-scale against the rash and reckless driving, particularly by the underage.
Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2025