Teenage bravado gone awry: ‘Phadda’ boys create panic at elite school
Clash between two groups of students at Beaconhouse leaves five injured.
ISLAMABAD:
A clash between two groups of students at a private school on Wednesday afternoon left five students injured, police and witnesses told The Express Tribune. However, the city police’s eagerness to ‘settle’ the issue quickly worried many parents who witnessed the incident when they came to pick up their children from the school’s H-8 campus.
While these parents and many students saw half a dozen of their fellow students bleeding and heard gunshots amid chaos at the scene, the Industrial Area Police denied that anyone was injured. On the reported gunfire, the police officials gave conflicting details.
“The security guard of the school resorted to firing in the air to disperse the students and no one was hit,” said the Industrial Area station house officer (SHO). However, the police officer investigating the incident said that there were no reports of firing at all. “I am not aware of any such thing,” said Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammed Riaz.
Describing the incident, the investigation officer said that the students who clashed outside the school were Beaconhouse students. The reason behind what caused the fight, he said, was not known. The police were not registering any case as both the parties had reconciled, said the police official.
“Boys from some other schools arrived at Beaconhouse on a bus. Some of them were carrying weapons. They clashed with students from Beachonhouse. My daughters heard gunshots and saw people getting hurt when the two groups of students pelted each other with stones and bricks,” said Malik Basheer, who had come to pick up his two daughters.
Another man concerned about the safety of his daughter studying in the school also confirmed that students from outside arrived in a van and entered Beachonhouse. “They harassed students inside and beat them up. One girl student was hit in the forehead with a stone,” said Imtiaz Piracha. “One bullet whistled passed my head,” said a senior school official who did not want to be named. However, she was not certain who had fired gunshots.
Police did not give any details on the number of students injured. The investigation officer said there were no serious injuries to make the offence cognisable, but his senior, the SHO, said, “The police are probing into the incident and arrests will be made after the guilt is ascertained.”
Many children who were caught in the fury and those who witnessed it returned home terrified. Their parents were concerned for the children’s security.
“The school management was helpless. The boys left the scene without facing any resistance. None of the intruding party was caught. In this situation, my daughters are not safe at school,” said Imtiaz Piracha. He said he would not send his children to school until action is taken against the people responsible for the incident.
Malik Basheer said he would launch a protest with the school management. He said police were also late in arriving at the scene and did not take any action. Basheer also said that he would not send his daughters to school until the management takes action.
An official from the school management said a committee was formed to probe the incident which will give its report in two days time. At the same time, the management insisted that the students fighting were not from Beaconhouse. “They were from some other institutions and had nothing to do with our school,” said the same school official.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.
A clash between two groups of students at a private school on Wednesday afternoon left five students injured, police and witnesses told The Express Tribune. However, the city police’s eagerness to ‘settle’ the issue quickly worried many parents who witnessed the incident when they came to pick up their children from the school’s H-8 campus.
While these parents and many students saw half a dozen of their fellow students bleeding and heard gunshots amid chaos at the scene, the Industrial Area Police denied that anyone was injured. On the reported gunfire, the police officials gave conflicting details.
“The security guard of the school resorted to firing in the air to disperse the students and no one was hit,” said the Industrial Area station house officer (SHO). However, the police officer investigating the incident said that there were no reports of firing at all. “I am not aware of any such thing,” said Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammed Riaz.
Describing the incident, the investigation officer said that the students who clashed outside the school were Beaconhouse students. The reason behind what caused the fight, he said, was not known. The police were not registering any case as both the parties had reconciled, said the police official.
“Boys from some other schools arrived at Beaconhouse on a bus. Some of them were carrying weapons. They clashed with students from Beachonhouse. My daughters heard gunshots and saw people getting hurt when the two groups of students pelted each other with stones and bricks,” said Malik Basheer, who had come to pick up his two daughters.
Another man concerned about the safety of his daughter studying in the school also confirmed that students from outside arrived in a van and entered Beachonhouse. “They harassed students inside and beat them up. One girl student was hit in the forehead with a stone,” said Imtiaz Piracha. “One bullet whistled passed my head,” said a senior school official who did not want to be named. However, she was not certain who had fired gunshots.
Police did not give any details on the number of students injured. The investigation officer said there were no serious injuries to make the offence cognisable, but his senior, the SHO, said, “The police are probing into the incident and arrests will be made after the guilt is ascertained.”
Many children who were caught in the fury and those who witnessed it returned home terrified. Their parents were concerned for the children’s security.
“The school management was helpless. The boys left the scene without facing any resistance. None of the intruding party was caught. In this situation, my daughters are not safe at school,” said Imtiaz Piracha. He said he would not send his children to school until action is taken against the people responsible for the incident.
Malik Basheer said he would launch a protest with the school management. He said police were also late in arriving at the scene and did not take any action. Basheer also said that he would not send his daughters to school until the management takes action.
An official from the school management said a committee was formed to probe the incident which will give its report in two days time. At the same time, the management insisted that the students fighting were not from Beaconhouse. “They were from some other institutions and had nothing to do with our school,” said the same school official.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.