BAHAWALPUR: A couple allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a canal in Lodhran district on Tuesday.

Reports said Nausheen and her husband Yaseen came to the canal bank at Mauza Bhuranpur near Pul 19,000 Ameerpur on Mailsi Road and jumped into the canal.

Media Coordinator Muhammad Safdar of Lodhran Rescue 1122 told Dawn by cell phone that on receipt of an emergency call, rescuers were dispatched to the spot. Before the rescue staff reached there, their family had retrieved the body of Nausheen from the canal.

He said a search operation under the supervision of the Lodhran district emergency officercontinued for six hours in the canal which was about 20 to 25feet deep, but the body of Yaseen could not be recovered.

PRO Imran of the Lodhran district police officer said the reason for the suicide could not be ascertained. However, he said Kahror Pakka police were being contacted to locate the deceased`s family in the rural area to investigate the matter.

ARRESTED: The Jallah Arian police in Lodhran district claimed to have arrested a man for the alleged rape of his 15-year-old daughter.

According to the FIR registered under sections 376 and 377-B of PPC, complainant Saeeda Bibi said her husband had been subjecting her daughter to rape. The police after the registration of case claimed to have arrested the suspect.