The petitioner argues that a cognizable offense was committed and seeks registration under Section 154.
The Eastern Sessions Court on Friday cited arguments by lawyers of Karachi mayor, city chairman, Water Board and BRT contractor in connection with a petition to register a case over the death of three-year-old Ibrahim, who fell into a culvert near NIPA in Karachi on December 31.
The hearing was held before the Eastern Sessions Court in connection with the petition to file a case against the mayor, the city president, the Water Board and the BRT contractor. The petitioner, lawyer Sheikh Saqib Ahmed, presented his arguments before the court.
Lawyer Sheikh Saqib Ahmed has blamed the city’s top civic leaders in his petition filed on December 3, claiming that Ibrahim’s death was due to “culpable negligence” on the part of the mayor and other officials. He asked the court to order registration of a criminal case for negligence resulting in loss of innocent life.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the police, in their report, stated that the child’s parents did not wish to take legal action. However, the Supreme Court has held that if a crime has occurred, any person can initiate proceedings. The lawyer submitted that a crime had been committed and the police should register the case under section 154.
He added that even if compensation is offered, it is governed by Section 345 once the case is registered. He argued that the charges should include murder by negligence, as well as Section 302 for murder.
The lawyer argued that while there was no intent to kill, the parties involved knew that the act could result in someone’s death. He also stated that even if it is argued that a manhole cover was placed but then removed, those responsible still had a duty to ensure safety after covering it.
Once the petitioner concluded his arguments, the court cited the arguments of the mayor’s attorneys and other parties at the next hearing. The court adjourned the case until January 19.
Read: Petitions call for criminal case against Karachi mayor over death of toddler
Another petition was also filed before the Eastern District District and Sessions Judge’s court on December 3, seeking registration of a criminal case against senior municipal officials, including Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab.
The petitioner, Advocate Abdul Ahad, stated in his separate petition that the boy, Ibrahim, died after sliding down an uncovered manhole and alleged that the negligence of the municipal and district administration directly caused the tragedy. He added that Ibrahim’s family had repeatedly complained about the uncovered sewer, but authorities had failed to secure the area. “The grieving family has also blamed the authorities for failing to secure the area despite repeated public complaints,” the petition said.
Three-year-old Ibrahim, Nabeel’s son, slipped into the gutter in front of a department store around 11pm on November 31. He had let go of his father’s finger and was walking between rows of parked motorcycles when he suddenly disappeared into the open manhole. The family had been shopping when the boy ran forward after freeing his hand.
After 15 hours of searching, the boy’s body was recovered the next day by Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) rescue teams near Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology. The boy’s body had traveled almost half a kilometer downstream. The culvert was located directly in front of Karachi’s Chase Up Center, a two-by-two-foot open gutter with no protective cover or barrier for pedestrians.
Rescuers initially began searching for the boy, but stopped operations due to a lack of equipment. Subsequently, the residents themselves provided machinery to continue the excavation work. The manhole was later found to be about one meter deep and served as an entry point to the 36-inch Gulshan-e-Iqbal main drainage line. The boy’s body traveled through three internal sewage canals before reaching the Dental Medical Center near Sir Syed University. The BRT machinery did not arrive until the next morning, almost 16 hours after the fall, to excavate the main drainage line.
The first to arrive at the scene were non-governmental rescue volunteers. But once inside the system, rescuers ran into the same obstacle that has plagued Karachi for decades: No one knew which direction the drain flowed or where it branched.
Read more: Body of little boy recovered after falling into manhole near Nipa flyover, Karachi
Without a map of the sewer and stormwater network, crews dug at one point and then another, searching for Ibrahim based only on guesses. They had to search blindly from the place where the person fell to the final exit of the drain because there is no structural documentation.
Rescue teams involved in the operation say the government must immediately prepare a master design of Karachi’s underground infrastructure and hand it over to emergency agencies, warning that without it, future tragedies will face the same delays and the same devastating consequences.
According to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation report submitted to the Secretary of the Local Government Department, the tragedy occurred because excavation work for the Red Line BRT project had severely damaged the drainage system. Temporary two-foot covers placed over drains were inadequate to prevent accidents.
However, this was not the first time a child died after falling into an open manhole in Karachi. In January 2025, eight-year-old Ibad Asad fell into an open manhole near a wedding hall in Shah Faisal Colony and died despite rescue efforts. Last year alone, at least 19 people lost their lives due to open sewers, highlighting a persistent problem with oversight and the inability of local authorities to ensure basic public safety measures. Similarly, in September 2021, two-and-a-half-year-old Hamza died in Garden West after the manhole cover near his grandfather’s house had been missing for 15 days, and residents reported that nearby construction activity had damaged it.
