Four male students have confessed to planning and setting the fire which destroyed the St. Angela Girls’ Hostel in Karasabai Village, Region Nine, Police Headquarters confirmed.
The fire started sometime between 02:30 hrs and 03:00 hrs on Thursday.
According to the official Police report, the boys planned to set the building on fire after they were chased from the premises by the caretaker. The News Room understands that the boys were reportedly told to stop coming to the hostel to “trouble” the girls.
The Police Force said some 19 students between the ages of 11 and 16 occupied the building and managed to escape unharmed.
The suspects are in custody assisting with further investigations.
According to one of the Sisters who manages the hostel, threats were reportedly made on Wednesday to set the building on fire. Additionally, villagers claimed that when the fire first started, they saw some boys riding away from the hostel.
The Sister, who was speaking during a meeting with government officials led by Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, on Thursday, applauded residents for their efforts in extinguishing the fire and preventing it from spreading to the hostel’s store room and library.
Several days ago, the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School was gutted by fire. A total of 20 children, 19 girls, and one boy, died after that fire.
The hostel was constructed by the Catholic Church to ease the burden of students staying with guardians in the village.
So now “copy-cat” is been committed. Some serious “cut-rass” is required as a deterrent to this type of behavior. A clear and unequivocal message has to be sent to anyone who feel the need to commit such heinous act in future.