A Christian teenager, who was highly academic despite years of institutional peer bullying and discrimination, was killed by Muslim pupils in Vehari District in the Punjab on 27 August.
The violence, which took place in his classroom, was of such a ferocity that Sharoon died in the room. Early pupil reports suggest that the teacher overseeing the class ignored the brutal mauling.
Distracted by newspaper?
However, the teacher claimed he was reading a newspaper and did not notice the attack. Later the Head Teacher stated that the attack occurred between classroom sessions and that one teacher was late on arrival, allowing the incident to occur without notice.
Questions are being asked about the inactivity of ‘the classroom teacher’ (if there) and the duty of care of other teachers in the vicinity to react to the noise emitted from the melée. Already the school has taken action against the Head Teacher, who has been dismissed from his post.
Faithful
Sharoon was warned not to mix with Muslims at school. One boy is believed to have said: ‘You’re a Christian, don’t dare sit with us if you want to live.’ He was called a chura, a derogatory term against Christians. Many attempts were made to convert him to Islam. However, Sharoon never lost his faith, exacerbating his pariah status.
