Sehwan high school caught in crossfire

Panic gripped Sehwan city when an armed group of people attacked a government boys high school on Wednesday, according to police.

Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Tariq Dharejo confirmed to Dawn that two groups of the Rind community were involved in some dispute, and one of them resorted to firing on the school to settle their score with rivals. He said no casualty was so far reported.

“They attacked a teacher, Pir Mohammad Rind, but he remained unhurt. His motorbike was damaged, and the attackers fled away,” DIG Dharejo added.

Jamshoro Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zafar Siddiqui reached the scene, and police from Dadu also arrived there.

In December of last year, 14 people had suffered wounds when rival groups of the Pararo community armed with sticks and iron rods clashed with each other over a land dispute in the Kachi Abadi area, Sehwan town.

DIG Dharejo said that according to the latest reports, the firing was the result of a land dispute amongst the Rind community. Four people have been arrested, including Deedar Rind, Sarwa Rind, Roshan Rind, and Janar Rind, for their alleged involvement in the shooting.

One submachine gun has also been recovered, while a case would be lodged as well at Sehwan police station, according to the DIG.

A local journalist told Dawn that the assailants were said to be residents of Katchi Abadi Sehwan. The school that was attacked was the only high school in Sehwan.

People in the area were terrorised following the firing incident.

Last month, a minor student had shot at and injured his female teacher in a private school in Chak 32-JB, Faisalabad.

According to an FIR registered by Sandalbar police under sections 324 and 34 of the PPC, complainant Muhammad Bakhsh, father of the injured teacher, stated that during a farewell party hosted by eighth-grade students, Raja Aoun Saeed asked his classmate, Mirza Muhammad Dawood, to fire at their teacher, Hafza Bibi (21).