Student immolates himself after denied entry into exam hall

Karachi: Pakistani police was Tuesday investigating a case of a university student who immolated himself after being denied entry into an exam hall for being late. His family rejected the claim and said he was murdered.

Abdul Basit, who was doing his graduation in dental surgery, burnt himself inside the campus of private Hamdard University after the invigilator did not allow him into examination hall as he was ten minutes late.

He was rushed to the burn centre of public sector Civil Hospital where he died late on Monday evening.

The family said Basit was not schizophrenic and he must have been incited by the members of the varsity administration to take such an extreme step.

“My brother was full of life and he never could have done this to himself,” Abdul Majid, Basit’s brother told Gulf News.

He further said that Basit was not addicted to any kind of tobacco, betel-nut or cigarette. How then did he get the match box and who provided him the petrol, they asked. Majid raised the questions adding that Basit was drenched in petrol.

The grieved father outside the home also not ready to accept that his son might have committed suicide.

“My son could never commit suicide, you could ask around, he was not that type. He was a simpleton. He never indulged in any vice and he only concentrated on his education and always stayed at home with his mother,” Shahid Jamal, the father told the media.

The mother was shown claiming at the television channels that her son was burnt by someone sprinkling petrol on him before setting him on fire.

The university administration claimed that Basit was failing in examination for past seven years and on Monday too he arrived even minutes late after the examination was over.

Assistant professor Syed Abrar Ali told the media that another student who arrived 30 minutes late was allowed to take examination.

Police just stopped short of registering a suicide case as the higher authorities set up an inquiry into the incident before lodging a case.

“We have appointed a two-member committee to probe into this and determine the actual account of the matter,” Feroz Shah, police chief of western district said.