Heartrending: ‘Toy bomb’ claims student’s life in K-P

Militants threw a grenade suspected to have been concealed as a toy into a school.

PESHAWAR:

A 12-year-old student was killed, while another child was injured when unidentified miscreants threw a hand grenade inside a school in the Chargo Kalay area of Peshawar on Monday.

According to police officials, militants tossed the grenade in a private school, which led to the death of 12-year-old Ali while another named Waqarullah sustained serious injuries.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Riazul Islam said the attack aimed to create panic among the locals. “It was a hand grenade explosion,” he said.

“However, we do suspect that it was concealed in a toy. When thrown into the school, the children started playing with it which led to the blast,” explained Islam, adding that evidence was still being gathered from the site of the explosion. According to a resident Salamat, the blast occurred when parents were waiting to pick up their kids after classes.  “When I rushed inside, I saw one of the kids lay on the ground, while another one was seriously injured. It was very difficult to identify the wounded since many kids were crying.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2012.