Young death: Teacher, principal suspended

Youth buried at native village.

FAISALABAD:

The education department on Saturday suspended from service and initiated an inquiry against his schoolteacher and principal of Government MC High School Yaseenabad.

The funeral prayers for Khalid, who had set himself alight on Friday morning and expired at the Allied Hospital Burns Unit on Friday night, were held at his house on Saturday. Funeral prayers were also offered at his native village in Samundri tehsil.

The boy had given a statement to the Batala Colony investigation officer from his death bed.

“The boy said that his teacher, Masood Siddiqui, would reprimand and beat him over minor things. He said it was on account of this that he had burnt himself.

Taking note of the incident, EDO (Education) Sohaib Imran on Saturday issued orders suspending teacher Masood Siddiqui and headmaster Ghulam Fareed and initiated an inquiry.

Batala Colony SHO Rana Umar Daraz Khan told The Tribune that they had registered a case on a complaint by Khalid Pervaiz, the father, against headmaster Ghulam Fareed for defamation, and criminal intimidation.

Khan said that since specific allegations had not been levelled, they had not arrested the supects.

“We registered the case on the basis of the DSP’s legal opinion.

However, there is not enough evidence to issue arrest warrants for either the headmaster or the teacher,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2012.