14 killed, 79 injured in Pakistan train collision
Lahore: At least 14 passengers were killed and 79 others injured on Thursday when an express train rammed into a stationery freight train in Pakistan's Punjab province, officials said.
The Quetta bound Akbar Express collided with the stationary freight train at the Walhar Railway Station in Sadiqabad Tehsil of the province, Dawn quoted officials as saying.
The freight train was on the loop line when the speeding passenger train instead of running on the main line entered the wrong track.
At least 14 people were killed while 79 others were injured when the passenger train, the Akbar Express, collided with the freight train, rescue officials told DawnNewsTV.
All passengers, onboard the train headed to Quetta, have been removed from the train and track clearance operations were underway, Deputy Commissioner Rahim Yar Khan, Jamil Ahmed Jamil said.
He said that heavy machinery was being used to rescue passengers who were stuck in the train, adding that they were being provided with food and water.
Authorities said the Pakistan Army was also taking part in the rescue efforts. The engine of the Akbar Express was completely destroyed in the accident while three compartments were also damaged, police said.
The injured have been shifted to nearby hospitals of Sadiqabad and Rahim Yar Khan for treatment where an emergency has been declared, Geo news reported.
A child and a man have been rescued from the train, the report said. Officials say they fear more casualties in the accident.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi have expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the train accident.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Khan said he has asked Railways Minister to take emergency steps to counter decades of neglect of railway infrastructure and ensure safety standards.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has ordered an investigation into the accident. He said that the accident appeared to have occurred due to human negligence.
He announced compensation of Rs 1.5 million for the families of the deceased and Rs 0.5 million each for the injured, Dawn newspaper reported.
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Broken relationships don't automatically amount to abetment of suicide: SC
New Delhi (PTI): Broken relationships, while emotionally distressing, do not automatically amount to abetment of suicide in the absence of intention leading to the criminal offence, the Supreme Court on Friday said.
The observations came from a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ujjal Bhuyan in a judgement, which overturned the conviction of one Kamaruddin Dastagir Sanadi by the Karnataka High Court for the offences of cheating and abetment of suicide under the IPC.
"This is a case of a broken relationship, not criminal conduct," the judgment said.
Sanadi was initially charged under Sections 417 (cheating), 306 (abetment of suicide), and 376 (rape) of the IPC.
While the trial court acquitted him of all the charges, the Karnataka High Court, on the state's appeal, convicted him of cheating and abetment of suicide, sentencing him to five years imprisonment and imposing Rs 25,000 in fine.
According to the FIR registered at the mother's instance, her 21-year-old daughter was in love with the accused for the past eight years and died by suicide in August, 2007, after he refused to keep his promise to marry.
Writing a 17-page judgement, Justice Mithal analysed the two dying declarations of the woman and noted that neither was there any allegation of a physical relationship between the couple nor there was any intentional act leading to the suicide.
The judgement therefore underlined broken relationships were emotionally distressing, but did not automatically amount to criminal offences.
"Even in cases where the victim dies by suicide, which may be as a result of cruelty meted out to her, the courts have always held that discord and differences in domestic life are quite common in society and that the commission of such an offence largely depends upon the mental state of the victim," said the apex court.
The court further said, "Surely, until and unless some guilty intention on the part of the accused is established, it is ordinarily not possible to convict him for an offence under Section 306 IPC.”
The judgement said there was no evidence to suggest that the man instigated or provoked the woman to die by suicide and underscored a mere refusal to marry, even after a long relationship, did not constitute abetment.
