When an explosion took place at Abbas Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Sunday, which claimed the lives of over 50 people while injuring 140 others, a Pakistan Rangers Wing, which was assigned the task of maintaining law and order situation with the help of local police in Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal, was engaged in washing away evidences of a certain incidence in which a pet dog of a Wing Commander had bit the arm of a mason’s child and chewed it at Karachi University (KU) some time ago. Investigations exploring reasons behind the inability of law enforcement agencies to reach the spot after explosion at Abbas Town revealed that paramilitary force wing, which had occupied boys hostel in KU since 1988 and assigned for maintaining law and order situation in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar, was busy in washing away evidences of crime in which their boss’s pet dog had bit and later chewed an arm of a mason’s minor boy in varsity premises.
“The incident took place a few minutes before Abbas Town blast and the Rangers Wing Commander Col Ehtisham was busy in takig the injured boy for medical treaatment,” Department of Sociology Associate Professor Nabeel Ahmed Zuberi who witnessed the scene said.
Dr Zuberi, neighbour of Col Ehtisham, further said that a few boys were playing cricket and the son of the mason was watching their game when a female Dalmatian dog attacked him and bit off one of his arm.
“A government servant, who was assigned to Wing Commander Col Ehtisham, hurriedly controlled the pet dog to save the minor boy,” Dr Zuberi said, adding that the boys who were playing cricket took him to KU clinic where he was referred to another hospital due to lack of required facilities at the varsity healthcare facility.
“It was an accident and Col Ehtisham, who was not at his house, reached the spot and guaranteed to bear all treatment expenses of the injured boy, Dr Zuderi added.
“I received a phone call from KU Rangers control room informing me that a dog had bitten a minor child in the campus premises,” a security guard who wished not to be named told Pakistan Today. “I hurriedly rushed to the spot and saw a few people there but some people later took the minor child to a hospital for treatment,” he added.
“Few minutes later I received another call from KU Rangers control room informing me that the pet dog of Wing Commander had bitten a child after which I heard a huge explosion which although took place a few kilometres away from the varsity, but its intensity was also felt in the campus,” he added.
“The people who were gathered at the spot told me that the dog bit the child’s arm three times and chewed on it,” the security guard said, adding that the name of the child and his father could not be ascertained as someone had advised him to keep away from this incident as Rangers Wing Commander was involved in it.
“Someone informed me that the Wing Commander’s pet dog bit the son of a mason in campus but I have no further details of this incident,” KU Vice Chancellor’s Advisor on Security Affairs Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi said. “KU had assigned a boys hostel to Rangers in 1988 when the law and order situation in campus prevailed and since then they have occupied the varsity’s hostel,” Dr Iraqi added.
“Later, Rangers established its wing inside the campus and KU allocated a house to commander of the wing in its residential area, Dr Iraqi said, while adding that now if there was law and order situation in the campus, Rangers came and controlled it.
“This Rangers wing was not only assigned KU but also it was allocated Gulshan-e-Iqbal covering Abul Hassan Isphahani Road and Old Sabzi Mandi and entire area of Gulistan-e-Jauhar for maintenance of law and order situation with local police,” he maintained.
“It was just an accident and nothing else and Col Ehtisham is bearing all treatment expenses of the injured boy,” Pakistan Rangers spokesman said. “Abul Hassan Isphahani Road does not fall in jurisdiction of Col Ehtisham,” the spokesman added. But when he was asked to brief as to which Rangers wing was responsible for Abul Hassan Isphahani Road where city’s biggest blast took place on Sunday, he was found answerless.