A fatal blow: Student killed allegedly by his roommates

Autopsy report says deceased was hit on the head with an iron rod.

HARIPUR: An eighth-grader at WAPDA Cadet College Tarbela was killed in a clash with his roommates, police said on Saturday. 

Police quoted ninth-grader Wadood Iqbal as saying that his younger brother Haseeb Iqbal, a Class VIII student, was sharing a room with five other classmates. On Friday evening, he was on his way back to the hostel after attending an annual festival when he came across his roommates.

According to Wadood, an exchange of harsh words ensued over some issue and he was informed at around 11:30pm that his sibling had been beaten to death. In the FIR registered with the police, Haseeb’s classmates Mohsin Ahmed, Rana Umair, Abdul Wahab, Abdul Qudus and Farhan Ahmed, have been accused of murdering him. According to the autopsy report, the boy died from head injuries after being hit with an iron rod.

Speaking to the media from the prison lockup, Mohsin, one of the accused, alleged the deceased tried to molest one of the boys. He said when the group pushed Haseeb away, he hit his head on the wall and this caused his death. Mohsin added that since the warden was sleeping, it was impossible to take Haseeb to a hospital.

However, a teacher and a student, both requesting anonymity, said there was a divide between Punjabi and Pukhtun students and this served as the catalyst for the clash.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2015.