The petitioner contends that a cognizable offense has been committed and seeks registration under Section 154.
The Eastern Sessions Court on Friday summoned the lawyers of the Karachi Mayor, the city chairman, the Water Board and the BRT contractor on a plea for registration of a case regarding the death of three-year-old Ibrahim who fell into a manhole near NIPA in Karachi on December 31.
The hearing was held in the Eastern Sessions Court regarding the request to file a complaint against the mayor, the city chairman, the Water Board and the BRT contractor. The petitioner, lawyer Sheikh Saqib Ahmed, presented his arguments before the court.
Lawyer Sheikh Saqib Ahmed held the city’s top civic leaders responsible in his petition filed Dec. 3, saying Ibrahim’s death was the result of “culpable negligence” on the part of the mayor and other officials. He requested the court to order registration of a criminal case for negligence resulting in loss of innocent life.
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the police, in their report, had stated that the child’s parents did not want to take legal action. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that if a crime is committed, anyone can initiate proceedings. The lawyer said a crime had taken place and the police should register a case under Section 154.
He added that even if compensation is offered, it falls under Section 345 once the case is registered. He argued that the charges should include negligent killing as well as section 302 murder.
The attorney argued that while there may have been no intent to kill, the parties involved knew the act could result in someone’s death. He also said that even if it was claimed that a manhole cover had been placed and then removed, the responsible parties still had an obligation to ensure safety after covering it.
After the petitioner finished his arguments, the court summoned the mayor’s lawyers and other parties to the next hearing. The court adjourned the case until January 19.
Read: Petitions call for criminal action against Karachi mayor over toddler’s death
Another petition was also filed on December 3 in the court of District and Sessions Judge, District East, seeking registration of a criminal case against senior civic officials, including Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab.
The petitioner, advocate Abdul Ahad, said in his independent petition that the child, Ibrahim, died after slipping into an uncovered manhole and alleged that the negligence of the municipal and district administration was directly responsible for this tragedy. He said Ibrahim’s family had repeatedly complained about the uncovered manhole, but authorities had failed to secure the area. “The bereaved family also blamed the authorities for failing to secure the area despite repeated complaints from the public,” the petition said.
Three-year-old Ibrahim, son of Nabeel, slipped into the manhole outside a department store around 11 p.m. on November 31. He had let go of his father’s finger and was walking ahead between rows of parked motorcycles when he suddenly disappeared into the open gutter. The family was shopping when the boy ran ahead after freeing his hand.
After 15 hours of searching, the child’s body was found the next day by rescue teams of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) near Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology. The boy’s body had traveled nearly half a kilometer downstream. The manhole was located directly opposite Karachi’s Chase Up Center – a two-foot by two-foot uncovered gutter, with no protective cover or barrier for pedestrians.
Rescue teams initially began searching for the child, but stopped their operations due to lack of equipment. Residents then installed the necessary machines themselves to continue the excavation work. It was later discovered that the manhole was about three feet deep and served as the entry point for the 36-inch main drainage line from Gulshan-e-Iqbal. The boy’s body passed through three internal sewage canals before reaching the dental medical center near Sir Syed University. The BRT machines were not brought in until the next morning, almost 16 hours after the fall, to dig the main drainage line.
Non-governmental volunteer rescuers were the first to arrive on scene. But once inside the system, rescuers encountered the same obstacle that had plagued Karachi for decades: No one knew which direction the drain flowed or where it branched off.
Learn more: Body of toddler recovered after falling into drain hole near Nipa flyover, Karachi
Without a blueprint for the sewer and stormwater system, crews dug at one point and then another, searching for Ibrahim based only on guesswork. They had to search blindly from the drop point to the final drain orifice because no structural documentation exists.
Rescue teams involved in the operation say the government must immediately prepare a blueprint for Karachi’s underground infrastructure and provide it 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 the excavation work for the Red Line BRT project had seriously damaged the drainage system. The two-foot temporary covers placed over the drains were insufficient to prevent accidents.
However, this was not the first time that a child died after falling into an open manhole in Karachi. In January 2025, eight-year-old Ibad Asad fell into an uncovered manhole near a wedding hall in Shah Faisal Colony and died despite rescue efforts. Last year alone, at least 19 people lost their lives 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 went missing for 15 days, with residents reporting that nearby construction activities had damaged it.
