Lucky Cement employee killing is intentional or accidental?
Barkatullah Marwat
One Arif, an employee working in the IT section of the Lucky Cement Factory, Lakki Marwat, died on spot after colliding with a lifter on October 21 at about 10 am and his body was shifted to his native village in Dera Ismail Khan.
His untimely death must have caused havoc in the house. Shortly afterwards, the SHO Pezu Police Station, Furqan Javed, along with police personnel went to the factory where he met the HR Manager Anwar Tariq at his office. The manager informed the SHO about the details of the incident and also gave the home address of the deceased.
The police reached the home of the deceased where his only son, Asif Arif, was questioned and asked if he had any suspicion and wanted to take legal action against the factory management. However, Asif Arif refused to do so and handed over his written statement authenticated by two witnesses.
Similarly, the police were allowed to take the lifter and motorcycle to the police station. At around 4 pm, the Deputy General Manager Lucky Cement Faiz Mohammad, who was unaware of the incident, entered the factory.
Meanwhile, the HR Manager Anwar Tariq left for Dera Ismail Khan to attend the funeral ceremony of the deceased which was to be held at 6 pm. But unfortunately the SHO Furqan Javed in his complaint, had nominated the factory management's high-ranking officers, including the Security Officer Din Mohammad, the Senior Security Manager Nasir Abbas, the DGM IS and Administration Faiz Mohammad, the HR Manager Anwar Tariq and lifter operator, Attaullah in the FIR under section 322, 200, 201, 427, 148 and 149 PPC.
When the police report came to limelight after its registration, it was found that the police intentionally or unintentionally concealed the facts. For example, the SHO stated that as soon as they got information about the incident, they immediately went to the factory where they were not allowed to enter the premises. However, the factory management rebutted the allegation, having been recorded by the CCTV footage wherein the SHO had entered the factory through the main gate.
Another point-cum-allegation was levelled that the factory management tried to hide the facts from the police but on the contrary, during the SHO’s meeting Anwar Tariq described the whole incident in detail and given the address of the deceased's home so that he himself may go there and complete his investigation. Thirdly, since it was the fault of deceased Arif, whose overspeeding motorcycle had collided with the loaded lifter and consequently he died on the spot. But in the FIR, the police accused the lifter operator, Attaullah, guilty of gross negligence.
When this scribe visited the factory to investigate the incident and met the eye witnesses of the scene, it was revealed that it was the fault of the deceased, Arif, who was overspeeding on his motorbike when he hit the lifter and fell to the ground.
On the other hand, when contacted the security personnel at the main gate, they disclosed that there was no bar on the entry of police to the factory without permission, but the police had denied that the gate was not opened for them to meet the officials of management.
Leaving aside the version of SHO and manager for a moment, the question arises that in a video clip obtained from the CCTV camera which clearly showed the SHO entering the factory, and here, a saying goes, “A man can tell a lie but circumstances cannot.”
Charged in the FIR, the high-ranking officers of the factory have obtained the BBA from a local court and have started pursuing the case. It merits to mention that the Lucky Cement Factory, which became operational in 1996, is the first incident of its kind where an FIR has been lodged against its management.
The writer is a senior journalist, based in Peshawar. He can be contacted at: bumarwat@gmail.com.
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