Bargaining ground: Man sets school on fire for not being given a job
The father of the alleged arsonist had donated the land on which the school was built.
The incident occurred in Gohram Khan Gopang, Dadu, on Friday evening. PHOTO: FILE
HYDERABAD:
A man set a primary school ablaze in Dadu to avenge the education department officials for not appointing him as the naib qasid in the school. Although no one was hurt in the incident, the arson attack destroyed three rooms, furniture, office records and other infrastructure.
The incident occurred in Gohram Khan Gopang, Dadu, on Friday evening. The school was built on a 200-square-yard plot, gifted to the education department by the arsonist Sajjad Gopang's father a few years ago.
The alleged attacker, who reportedly confessed to the crime after his arrest on Saturday, claimed that he had been duped by the school headmaster, Abdul Raheem Solangi, as well as officials of the education department. "They had promised I would be given the job in return for the plot my family gave for the school," he told the police.
Hours before torching the school, 30-year-old Gopang had staged a protest outside Dadu Press Club, blaming Solangi and other school staff of beating him. "The principal and the sub-divisional officer (SDO) were making me run from pillar to post in the hope that I would be given a job," Gopang had told reporters outside the press club. "We have donated the plot worth Rs4 million for the school. Until I am given the job, I will not allow the school to operate."
Four days prior to the incident, Gopang had put a padlock at the school gates for the sixth time, according to the headmaster. Solangi said he was not authorised to appoint Gopang on a government job and he had forwarded the letter to the SDO.
The SDO, Imdad Lashari, who registered the FIR against Gopang at B-Section police station, told reporters that he had also recommended Gopang's appointment but the approval was pending with the higher officials. He said after the school's forceful closure, complaints were filed at the offices of the deputy commissioner and SSP to take action against Gopang. The complaints had gone unheeded, he claimed.
Black flags were hoisted in all schools in Dadu on Saturday on the call of the primary teachers association's Dadu president Inayat Jamali. "We want to convey a message to the government that they should own their schools and protect them," said Jamali.
According to SHO Asghar Brihmani, the suspect has been charged under Sections 436 (arson) and 503 (criminal intimidation).
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2014.
A man set a primary school ablaze in Dadu to avenge the education department officials for not appointing him as the naib qasid in the school. Although no one was hurt in the incident, the arson attack destroyed three rooms, furniture, office records and other infrastructure.
The incident occurred in Gohram Khan Gopang, Dadu, on Friday evening. The school was built on a 200-square-yard plot, gifted to the education department by the arsonist Sajjad Gopang's father a few years ago.
The alleged attacker, who reportedly confessed to the crime after his arrest on Saturday, claimed that he had been duped by the school headmaster, Abdul Raheem Solangi, as well as officials of the education department. "They had promised I would be given the job in return for the plot my family gave for the school," he told the police.
Hours before torching the school, 30-year-old Gopang had staged a protest outside Dadu Press Club, blaming Solangi and other school staff of beating him. "The principal and the sub-divisional officer (SDO) were making me run from pillar to post in the hope that I would be given a job," Gopang had told reporters outside the press club. "We have donated the plot worth Rs4 million for the school. Until I am given the job, I will not allow the school to operate."
Four days prior to the incident, Gopang had put a padlock at the school gates for the sixth time, according to the headmaster. Solangi said he was not authorised to appoint Gopang on a government job and he had forwarded the letter to the SDO.
The SDO, Imdad Lashari, who registered the FIR against Gopang at B-Section police station, told reporters that he had also recommended Gopang's appointment but the approval was pending with the higher officials. He said after the school's forceful closure, complaints were filed at the offices of the deputy commissioner and SSP to take action against Gopang. The complaints had gone unheeded, he claimed.
Black flags were hoisted in all schools in Dadu on Saturday on the call of the primary teachers association's Dadu president Inayat Jamali. "We want to convey a message to the government that they should own their schools and protect them," said Jamali.
According to SHO Asghar Brihmani, the suspect has been charged under Sections 436 (arson) and 503 (criminal intimidation).
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2014.