Diyat
HYDERABAD: On Thursday, the Model Criminal Trial Court-I ordered two lifeguards from the Sindh government-owned Hyderabad Club to pay Rs6.7 million in diyat (compensation money) to the family of an 11-year-old boy who tragically drowned in the club’s swimming pool in April 2016.
Judge Tasawar Ali convicted the two lifeguards, Sajjad Ali Parhiyar and Nadir Ali Parhiyar, under Section 265-H (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for the offense classified under Section 319 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
The court’s ruling mandated that the lifeguards “shall remain in simple imprisonment until the payment of the diyat amount.”
Additionally, they were required to pay Rs500,000 to the heirs of the deceased boy, Inder Vineet Hotwani. Failure to make this payment would result in a six-month term of simple imprisonment.
Following the verdict, the two accused lifeguards were taken into custody and remanded to central prison.
However, the court acquitted the club’s administrator, Mushtaq Ahmed Memon, and his subordinate, Umair Shoro, as the prosecution was unable to substantiate the charges against them.
The case originated when Dr. Chetan Das, the father of the deceased boy, lodged an FIR on May 2, 2016. According to Dr. Das, his son, Inder, had visited the Hyderabad Club for swimming on April 13.
The family was later informed by their driver that the boy had drowned in the pool. Inder was rushed to a private hospital and subsequently transferred to Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, where he passed away on April 22.
Initially, Dr. Das suspected foul play and filed the FIR under Section 302, which was later amended to include Section 319 PPC.
A joint investigation team (JIT) was formed, which identified Umair Shoro and Mushtaq Memon as co-accused after CCTV footage from the day of the incident was found to have been deleted.
Despite this, the JIT disagreed with the investigating officer, Siraj Lashari, over the decision to exonerate Memon.
The investigation revealed that the club lacked emergency medical facilities and safety equipment, such as goggles, life jackets, and inflated rubber tubes.
The court determined that Sajjad Ali and Nadir Ali were on duty when the drowning occurred, leading to their conviction.
In contrast, Memon and Shoro were acquitted as the evidence did not meet the standard required for conviction under Section 265-H (1) CrPC.
Vijay Dutt served as the additional district public prosecutor, while Faiza Ubed represented the minor’s father in the case.
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