Death of burn victim leads to protest

The death of an 80-year-old woman, who received critical burn injuries a few weeks ago, in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday night sparked protests by her relatives.
Members of the family put the body in front of the Parliament House, raising slogans against the Rawalpindi police for failing to arrest the people responsible for burning the woman in her house.
An inquiry was ordered into the incident by the City Police Officer of Rawalpindi, Rao Mohammad Iqbal, on Wednesday to know the circumstances in which the old woman was burnt critically. The inquiry team would also need fixing responsibility for any wrongdoing by police.
The woman's son, Mohammad Iqbal, had lodged an FIR at the Sadiqabad police station, nominating Zaheer, Nazeer Ahmed, and Chaudhry Basharat for causing burn injuries to his mother.
He said he was involved in a court case with the accused, who allegedly came to his house on the Kuri Road on January 24 and pushed his 80-year-old mother onto a gas heater, critically burning her.
He said he was informed about how it happened by his sister, who was at home at the time of the incident.
When his sister called for help, according to the complainant, Chaudhry Basharat allegedly pulled out a pistol, holding her hostage.
People living nearby later rushed to their house and took the woman to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, from where she was referred to Pims in Islamabad.
Staging the protest, the family members and relatives accused police reluctance in arresting the people nominated in the FIR.
The protesters, however, dispersed after DSP Zariat Kiani and other police officials visited them, assuring them that an investigation had been launched into the incident.