Five
pupils plus the head teacher of an Arabic Boarding School (Madarasa) in Koba
Kunda, Basse, in the Upper River Region have been arrested in connection with
the death of a 15 year-old pupil, Muhammed Jawara, The Point has been reliably
informed.
A
source that spoke to our reporter on the condition of anonymity described the
incident as ‘shocking’ and ‘unbelievable’. The deceased, our source added, was
beaten by students of the school under the instruction of the head teacher who
accused him of ‘stealing one thousands five hundred dalasis (D1, 500).
Our
source added: “The five students jointly beat the deceased Muhammed Jawara and
locked him in a solitary confinement within the boarding school, leading to his
death.”
According
to our source who is familiar with the matter, the school authorities later
misinformed the deceased’s family, saying the child got sick and thereafter
died.
“However,
the parents of the child were later informed that Muhammed Jawara was beaten by
his fellow students under an instruction.
The
matter was then reported to the Basse Police Station nine days after the child
was buried.
“The
police tried to exhume the body but found out that the deceased’s body was
almost decomposing. The head teacher of the boarding school who authorised his
torture was later arrested by the police.”
The
matter is currently under investigation with a view to establishing the root
cause of the incident.
Efforts
at reaching the police spokesperson proved futile.
