JI announces reward for fruit seller who lost phone while rescuing child

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Thursday announced a reward for the fruit seller who lost his mobile phone while rescuing a child who fell into a water-filled pit in Karachi’s Manzoor Colony.

The dramatic rescue, captured on CCTV footage, has gone viral on social media and earned widespread praise for the street vendor’s bravery.

In a video shared on Facebook, JI councillors Hammad Butt and Abdullah Khan lauded the fruit vendor, identified as Shahid, for his courageous act. They said Shahid lost his mobile phone after jumping into the water-filled pit to save the child.

Speaking in the video, Shahid said the child was riding a bicycle when he lost control and fell into the pit while trying to avoid an oncoming motorcycle.

The JI councillors announced that they would provide Shahid with a new mobile phone and extend every possible assistance in recognition of his selfless act.

Shahid also appealed to the government to repair the damaged road and ensure proper safety measures around excavation sites to prevent similar incidents.

According to police, the incident occurred on Wednesday night outside the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (KW&SC) pumping station in Manzoor Colony. The pit, reportedly dug by the utility, had filled with water, posing a serious danger to residents.

The CCTV footage shows two children riding bicycles when one of them loses control and plunges into the several-foot-deep pit.

A street vendor passing by immediately rushed to the scene and, without hesitation, jumped into the pit to rescue the child. A motorcyclist who witnessed the incident also stopped to help. After pulling the child from the water, the vendor handed him to the motorcyclist, who lifted the boy to safety.

After ensuring the child was safe, Shahid quietly resumed pushing his cart and left the scene, drawing widespread admiration from social media users, many of whom hailed him as the “real hero.”