MULTAN: Five college students on Saturday allegedly set the owner of a tea kiosk on fire apparently for not offering them free tea.



The tragic incident was reported late Sunday night when some passers-by heard the groans of 55-year-old Muhammad Naeem – who was lying in a field – and shifted him to the emergency ward of Nishtar Hospital.



According to the injured man – 80% of whose body is burnt, some students of Qasim Pur Technical College used to demand free tea from him and said it was their right. He said when he informed the college administration about the matter, he began receiving death threats.



Naeem claimed that five students of the college came to his tea shop and forced him to come along with them for dinner. On the way, the students took him to a field and tied him up.



According to Naeem, the students first beat him and then poured petrol over him and set him on fire. He said all of the students escaped as he cried for help.



A physician at the hospital, Dr Pervez Haider, told The Express Tribune that they were trying to save the tea seller. “We have now shifted him to the intensive care unit of the burns unit,” he said, adding that chances of his survival were, however, bleak.



After lodging an FIR, police officials arrested three students during raids. The students have accepted their crime. Two students are still at large but police officials are hopeful of arresting them within the next 24 hours. Students – Moeen and Zeeshan – confessed that they burnt Naeem.



Published in The Express Tribune, November 16th, 2014.