A 15-year-old boy was allegedly run over and killed by his employer after attempting to leave his workplace in a private housing society in Multan. Police arrested the suspect, who was later granted four days of physical remand by a court on Tuesday. Waseem Abbas had been living at an orphanage for five years and wanted to learn electrical work, according to Shoaib Haider, the orphanage’s general secretary. The orphanage had sent him to contractor Tauqeer Nazir six days earlier to learn the trade. The incident took place within the jurisdiction of the DHA Police Station. Rescue officials said Abbas suffered a severe head injury and died at the scene. His body was shifted to Nishtar Hospital under police supervision before being transported to his native Muzaffargarh district, where he was buried. According to police, Abbas was learning electrical work under contractor Tauqeer Nazir, who was carrying out work at a house in the housing society. Following an argument over work, the teenager allegedly tried to leave, prompting Tauqeer to chase him in a car and run him over. Police said another suspect, Amjad Ali, was also in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Investigators said Abbas had been staying at Tauqeer’s house in Zakariya Town for about a week and a half. He was sent to the housing society on October 11 to learn electrical work and returned to the orphanage on October 15, where he met his friends. He went back to work with Tauqeer on the morning of October 17, police said. According to police, the contractor took Abbas to work and brought him back each day. Other children were also working under him. Abbas’s maternal grandfather had enrolled him at an orphanage so that he could receive an education. Police arrested suspect Tauqeer and registered a case. Today, he was presented before Judicial Magistrate Saadia Aslam, who granted him four days of physical remand. When Tauqeer was brought before the court, lawyers assaulted him outside the courtroom despite the presence of police. FIR alleges deliberate killing The first information report (FIR), registered on Monday, names Tauqeer Nazir and Amjad Ali as suspects and invoked Sections 302 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), relating to murder and acts done by several persons in furtherance of their common intention. It alleged that the two men pursued Abbas in a car and deliberately ran him over, causing fatal head injuries. According to the FIR, Sub-Inspector Liaquat Ali Bhatti was on patrol with police personnel in Royal Orchard when a man identified as Mukhtiar Ahmed approached them at around 4:35pm. Mukhtiar told police that his cousin, Abbas, had been working as an electrician for the suspects and that they had allegedly subjected him to violence and threatened to kill him. {{pdf}} The report stated that Abbas had fled to a neighbouring street to escape the alleged abuse, while the two suspects pursued him in a vehicle. Police said they saw Abbas running in fear, followed by a Honda vehicle bearing registration number BVE-474. The FIR alleged that the suspects ran the vehicle over Abbas with the intention of killing him. His head struck a pillar at the gate of house 3-A, crushing his skull and causing severe injuries. He died at the scene. Two residents, Saqlain Raza and Syed Naseem Abbas, were named in the FIR as witnesses to the incident. According to the report, they told police that Abbas had passed by shortly before the incident, saying that the suspects wanted to kill him and that he was running to save his life. The FIR further stated that the vehicle stopped after the incident and the suspects attempted to flee. Tauqeer was apprehended at the scene, while Amjad escaped. Police took the vehicle into custody as evidence. Mukhtiar told police that Abbas wanted to leave the job because of the alleged violence and feared for his safety. The FIR alleged that the suspects pursued him over his decision to leave and acted in concert to kill him. Family demands justice Abbas’s funeral prayers were held at around 2am in Mouza Daulatpur, and he was buried in his ancestral graveyard. The prayers were held promptly because of the condition of the body. Only close relatives and orphanage officials attended. Haider said the orphanage had sent Abbas to Tauqeer after making inquiries about the contractor, who had a team of around 40 to 45 boys. According to Haider, Tauqeer claimed he had followed Abbas in his car after the boy became tired while running away on foot. The suspect maintained that his car had slipped, but Haider said the video footage did not appear to support that explanation. “It looks as though he was hit with the car,” Haider said, adding that Tauqeer would have to explain during the investigation why the boy had run away from him. Haider said the orphanage had received no previous complaints against Tauqeer. Another boy from the facility had also been working for the contractor, but the orphanage had brought him back following the incident. Abbas’s cousin Nadeem, who had been living at the orphanage for six years, said the boy had often expressed reluctance to go to the electrician to learn the trade, saying he wanted to return home. Nadeem said he did not know Tauqeer and had never met him. He added that Abbas had not returned to the orphanage since leaving to learn electrical work. Abbas's uncle, Jafar Hussain, told the media that the boy’s father had died nine years ago. His maternal grandfather initially supported him, after which Hussain looked after him for two to three years. Abbas was later admitted to the orphanage by his grandfather and uncle, he said. “Tauqeer deliberately killed my nephew. I know what condition Abbas was in and how I saw him,” Hussain said, demanding justice. Abbas’s maternal grandfather said he had taken the boy to the orphanage because he wanted him to receive an education rather than struggle on the streets. He also demanded that the suspect be punished. Residents said Abbas and his brother had been admitted to the orphanage after their mother remarried following their father’s death. Bureau rejects Multan orphanage’s registration Meanwhile, the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) refused to register a Multan-based orphanage over its failure to ensure the safety and supervision of a child placed with a contractor for work, its chairperson Sarah Ahmad said. In a statement on X, Sarah urged the Punjab police to take legal action against the orphanage owner and hold those responsible accountable for the death of the 15-year-old boy. She said the bureau had issued minimum care standards for all orphanages housing children in Punjab, adding that no institution could be allowed to neglect its duty of care. Sarah also called on the Punjab Charities Commission to review the orphanage’s registration and licence and cancel it, where warranted under the law, besides initiating action against those responsible. “Every child deserves protection, dignity and safety. No orphan should be left at the mercy of those entrusted with their care,” she said.