Unidentified persons on Wednesday evening tried to set ablaze historical SP College, however the alert watchmen foiled their bid and doused the fire in time.Established in 1905 by Annie Besant for the then ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Pratap Singh, Sri Pratap College Srinagar commonly known as SP College is an academic and professional college in Kashmir. It is the oldest institute of higher education in Kashmir.College sources told news agency CNS that some unknown persons possibly managed to enter into the college on Wednesday evening. “They tried to put Botany Department building on fire. The miscreants probably chose Botany Department as it is located at secluded portion of the College. However, the alert Watchmen swung into action and spread the fire from spreading.
They managed to douse the fire, however, a window partially gutted in fire while the inside walls have also suffered damage,” they said.The incident has raised eyebrows as from past few months more than 30 educational institutions have gutted in mysterious fire across Kashmir.A Watchman said that they didn’t see any person inside the College at the time of incident. “A cloud of smoke attracted our attention. We rushed towards the spot of incident and doused the fire. The external hand can’t be ruled out,” he said wishing not to be named.Reports said that a police team visited the spot to assess the situation. “We have registered a case and investigation has been taken up. It will be premature to say anything at this point,” said a police official.Principal SP College Prof Muhammad Yasin said that police have taken the cognizance of the incident and investigation has been started to find out the truth. (CNS)