STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: A panchayat house and a store of a government middle school were damaged in separate fire incidents in Ganderbal and Pulwama districts of Kashmir valley, officials said on Thursday.
A single-storey Panchayat Ghar was damaged in a mysterious fire incident at village Arigam in Pulwama district of south Kashmir late this afternoon, the officials said.
In another incident, the officials said fire broke out under suspicious circumstances at government middle school at Busarbugh in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir. A chowkidar and some teachers present in the school at the time of the fire brought the blaze under control, they said, adding the fire damaged a store in the building.
They said police is investigating the cause of the fire at both the places.
Fire also damaged a shopping complex at Duderhama town in Ganderbal district yesterday, the officials said, adding cause of the fire was not known immediately.
Meanwhile, two persons, allegedly involved in burning of a school and ransacking a private educational institute last month, were arrested in Budgam district of central Kashmir, police said on Thursday.
Farooq Ahmad Malik alias “Buda” and Bilal Ahmad Malik alias “Durani”, both residents of Shunglipora, were arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was constituted to probe the burning of a school and ransacking of another school by some miscreants in Khag area last month, a police spokesman said.
He said a government school was set ablaze on October 27 at Habbar-Lassipora village while a private school at Shunglipora-Habbar was ransacked and damaged in a separate incident some days later.
“To investigate both the cases a special investigation team was constituted and during the course of investigation a number of suspects were brought for questioning,” he said.
It came to fore that some miscreants used to create disturbances in the area by hurling stones on the vehicles and also damaging the public property in the area by pelting stones.
“Two of these miscreants – Farooq and Bilal – hatched a conspiracy to set on fire Government School Habbar Lassipora, as the school was located away from the human habitation,” the spokesman said, adding they managed some kerosene oil from their respective homes and used the same for setting the school on fire.
