The body of a missing 15-year-old student in Islamabad was found from Trail 5 on Margalla Hills. Efforts are on to retrieve Taha's body from a deep ditch.
According to the police, apparently the student slipped and fell into the ditch. Meanwhile, Trail 5 of Margalla Hills was closed to the general public.
A resident of Rawalpindi's Gulzar Quaid, 15-year-old Taha, who had come for a hike on Margalla Hills' Trail 5 with his friends on Saturday, has left his parents in a huge shock.
Rescue operation
The Islamabad police has confirmed that the body they found earlier in the day belonged to the missing Taha. According to a spokesman, apparently the student had lost his way and fell into the ditch after slipping. Police and rescue personnel are trying to recover the body with the help of Rangers. The rescue operation was being aided by the Quick Response Team, Margalla Foot Patrol and drone cameras. The help of Safe City cameras was also being sought in the search.
The police further said the student's body was found in a dangerous ditch after a long search operation. The spokesperson said the City CP and a search team are present on the spot, along with the family members of the youth. An investigation was underway, and a post-mortem will be conducted to cover all the aspects, the spokesperson added.
A 15-member team resumed the search operation at 4am, said an Islamabad Wildlife spokesperson. He added that during the operation, the body of the teenager was found from Trail 5. Two mountaineers also assisted in the search operation.
A rescue official said there was swelling, but it was yet to be determined if something had bitten the boy. The actual cause of the death would be determined once the body is retrieved, which would take a couple of hours at least, she added.
Foul play
The grieving family suspected that Taha's death was not accidental, but the cause was something else. His maternal aunt said the teenager went out from home with friends, adding that they must have done something to him. She said one of his friends who returned had bruises on his knee and a stick mark on the other.
The aunt told the media that Taha was the only son of his parents and had been missing since 2pm on Saturday. The police registered a case of disappearance a day later. She said Taha usually did not go out much but was allowed to this time after he was done with his examinations.
FIR registered
A kidnapping FIR was initially registered at the Secretariat police station on the complaint of the child's mother. The police spokesperson said the exact cause of death would be determined after the post-mortem report was issued.
According to the FIR, Taha's friends with whom he had gone to the trail kept calling home and asking whether he had returned or not. After receiving the complaint, the police reached Trail 5, and searched for the boy but could not find him. The police registered a case under the kidnapping section and started searching.
Taha’s neighbour, Chaudhary Muhammad Saleem, had earlier told Samaa TV that it had been 30 hours and the police could not trace the boy. He called the lack of progress incompetence on the part of the police.
He said it was a matter of concern that such an incident took place in a high security zone.
