Karasabai hostel fire: Teenagers charged, remanded

The four teenage boys who are accused of starting the fire that destroyed the St Angela’s Girls’ Hostel in Karasabai, Village, Region Nine earlier this month were on Tuesday charged with the crime.

The boys, who cannot be named for legal purposes due to their ages, appeared at the Lethem Magistrate’s Court.

They were charged with setting the fire to a building and remanded to the Juvenile Holding Center.

The fire had started around 03:00hrs on Thursday, June 1.

Seventeen students were at the time being accommodated at the hostel. They all escaped unharmed.

Investigations later revealed that the fire was an act of arson.

One of the women who managed the hostel had said that threats were reportedly made the day before the day before to set the building alight.

Reports had indicated that some boys were reportedly told to stop coming to the hostel to “trouble” the girls.

Additionally, villagers claimed that when the fire first started, they saw some boys riding away from the hostel.

The hostel was constructed by the Catholic Church to ease the burden of students staying with guardians in the village. The students are from the surrounding communities and are attending school at the Karasabai Secondary Department.