SWABI: A mentally unstable man forced his way into a government primary school in Razaar tehsil, stabbed a minor girl to death and left another student seriously injured here on Thursday.

Police said that the incident occurred in Community Girls Model School, Mohib Banda, in Dagai union council. Malik Hayat, father of the mentally ill Hilal Hussain, is a watchman in the school. It was not immediately clear whether he was present in the school at the time of incident or not.

Hilal Hussain entered the school, went straight to a group of student in the courtyard and attacked them with a knife. As a result, one of them was killed. He stopped attacking more girls and teachers when they cried and people from nearby fields rushed to the school to help them.

The injured girls were taken to the district headquarters hospital, Mardan, where one of them identified as Hina Khan, daughter of Mohammad Salim, succumbed to her injuries. She was a fifth grade student.

Shawana, another injured girl who was also a fifth grader, is in critical condition and admitted to Mardan hospital. The police have arrested the man and recovered the knife used in the incident.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2017