Gun accident casualty: Teacher released after settlement with victim’s family

SWAT:

A teacher in Swat who accidently killed his student at Sangota School was released from prison after a settlement was reached with the victim’s family members on Sunday.

Majid Khan, a teacher, was cleaning his pistol in the staffroom on June 11, when it fired by accident. The bullet hit a student, Maaz Khan, who was walking in the corridor. Maaz died on the spot.

The police had arrested the school teacher based on an FIR filed by Maaz’s father. Majid was then held at Timergara jail. The village elders tried to resolve the matter through a jirga but Maaz’s parents did not agree. They demanded Rs10 million in blood money from the accused.

After efforts made by the cleric of Darul Uloom Sardaraz Fazi in Mingora, Swat, Dispute Resolution Council member Haji Rasool Khan and elders of the martyred student’s family, the matter was settled. It was decided Majid would give Rs1.5 million to deceased’s family.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2015.