SKARDU, July 27: A one-year-old murder case of a clerk of Special Communication Organization (SCO), Skardu, has been solved,

The local police arrested a cook of the SCO in connection of the case who confessed his crime, police sources told Dawn here on Saturday.

Confessing the crime before the local magistrate, cook Saqlain Ali, resident of Pind Dadan Khan, revealed that he had murdered Qari Nisar Ahmed.

Recorded his statement before the magistrate, he said: “On June 29, 2001, when I went to Qari Nisar’s room, he abused me without any reason and pushed me out of the room. This misbehaviour enraged me and provoked me. I made a plan for retaliation and waited for a chance. The same day, when Qari Nisar Ahmed was alone in his room, I hit a stick on his head. Qari Nisar fell on the ground and became unconscious. Soon after, I sprayed kerosene oil on him and set him on fire and went to my friend’s room who is a barber”, he said.

When the barber went out for some work, he saw smoke and fire coming out from Qari’s room, on which, the accused himself made a noise seeking help and ran towards the SCO office to inform about the situation.

Although, the accused Saqlain, has underwent an interrogation in Rawalpindi, but he never confessed the crime.

On June 3, 2001, on the request of Maj Mushtaq Ahmad Bhatti, the station house officer, Skardu, registered a case against the unknown accused under section 302. Later, an army team SIB acquired the services of two police officers of Skardu, sub-inspector Wazir Ajaz Haider and sub-inspector Mohammad Afzal. The team studied various aspects of this case and interrogated almost 150 people and finally reached at the bottom of the incident.

STUDENT DROWNS: A college student drowned while swimming in the Indus river here on Friday.

Manzoor Hussain, resident of Olding, Skardu, had gone for swimming when a strong wave swept him away near High School No 1. The body of the victim has not yet been recovered.