KARACHI - Police on Monday booked five students of a school allegedly involved in the cracker attack at the school here. Three consecutive blasts were occurred within two hours in the city, targeting the police station, a school and a college spread panic in the metropolis on February 12. Law enforcement agencies believed the militant outfits were behind the series of attacks. During the course of investigation, police investigators claimed that they have got a major breakthrough regarding the attack at The Educators School located in North Nazimabad. “Those who were suspecting that the militant outfits were behind the school attack were wrong as no militant outfit was behind it,” explained North Nazimabad SHO Shabbir Hussain.
The officer said two brothers including Osama, a matric student, and his younger brother Zarrar, a student of class 8 whose father used to run a estate agency, were the key suspects in the case. “Basically we have recorded the statements of the remaining three students who told us that they were not involved but Osama and his brother were basically involved,” he said. Osama was the student who was also wounded during the incident. Police officials said the accused students also admitted the crime when police started questioning them. “It was not a bomb but a firecracker,” said the officer while quoting the accused student Osama. “The firecracker also caused injuries to me when I was trying to explode it.”
Police officials said the accused students did this as they were the fee defaulters for more than four months and the school rules allow the student to attend the school but not let them sit in the exams over non-payment of fee.
“The remaining three students were also involved in the conspiracy but the two brothers had played a vital role. We have now released all the five students,” explained District Central police chief DIG Feroz Shah. “Their detention was enough for their punishment. They were the minors as well as the students. We did not want to spoil their career,” said DIG Shah. The investigation officer of the case will submit the report to the court on Tuesday (today).

PRISONER ESCAPED FROM CENTRAL JAIL

An under trial prisoner (UTP) was escaped from the Central Jail, Karachi on Monday evening. The UTP identified as M Hafeez, 35, a resident of Mehran Town area of Korangi Industrial Area, was imprisoned in Central Jail, Karachi September 9, 2013 after he was arrested by Gizri police on the murder charges.
The jail officials said the accused managed to escape from the Jail Colony located within the Central Jail after he was taken there to work at the residence of Deputy Superintendent of Jail, Murtaza Shaikh. Following the incident, provincial home minister suspended Shaikh and ordered immediate inquiry into the matter. Three jail cops including Zafarullah, Hashmat Ali and Safdar Hussain were arrested and a case against them was registered with the New Town police station.
Police officials said they were investigating that either the UTP managed to escape on his own or the jail officials were involved in helping him to escape.
Meanwhile, a fire broke out at one of the offices located at the multi-storey Business and Finance Centre at II Chundrigar Road, one of the busiest commercial hub in the city. The fire was erupted on the ninth floor of the building at around 9:30am.
Fire brigade spokesperson said after receiving information, one snorkel and five fire tenders were immediately dispatched to the fire site. The firefighters took at least half an hour to douse the fire. Panic and fear gripped the people present on the other floors of the building. The building was evacuated to avoid any untoward incident. The spokesperson said no one was hurt in the fire as the office was closed at the time of the incident.
The cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained.