Hazara University murders: Police apprehend alleged killer of two students from Abbottabad

Court sends student leaders to DI Khan to jail for a month for inciting violence

ABBOTTABAD: The police on Friday claimed to have arrested a man believed to be the key suspect involved in the murder of two students of Hazara University two days ago.

Chand Zeb, son of Munsif Khan a resident of Dhodiyal and a student of Hazara University, had allegedly shot dead fellow university students, Salman Khan and his cousin Tayyab Khan while injuring a third student Sajjad.

There had been a dispute between Chand Zeb and Salman, Sajjad had told police.

To settle their dispute, a jirga was held at a local snooker club in Momin Market near the varsity on Wednesday.

However, the jirga took a violent turn when harsh words were exchanged and Zeb, in a state of fury, shot and killed Salman and Tayyab. Sajjad was wounded in the incident.

According to the police, the wounded were rushed to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital from where Salman was referred to the Ayub Teaching Hospital, but he bled to death before reaching the facility.

The bullet-riddled body of Tayyab, though, was found near Bajna village. Tayyab’s father subsequently accused Zeb of murdering of his son.

Zeb, meanwhile, fled the scene.

On Friday, Mansehra police said that officials pursuing Zeb had managed to arrest him from Abbottabad.

Protesters released

In the aftermath of the double murders, violent protests had broken out with students from the varsity blocking the Karakoram Highway outside Hazara University for several hours leading into the early hours of Thursday. They also damaged 12 passing vehicles.

Police had to resort to baton charge and firing tear gas to disperse the protestors and booked around 145 of them for wrongfully restraining a person (Section 341 of PPC), rioting (Section 147), unlawful assembly (Section 149) and criminally intimidating people (Section 506).

Meanwhile, over 130 arrested students arrested by the police were later released on personal sureties.

However, 14 student leaders, who had allegedly provoked other students to block the KKH, were sent to DI Khan for a month on remand by a local court, said DPO Mansehra Ahsan Saifullah.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2016.