ISLAMABAD: These are testing times for the city students sitting annual examinations. But one of them went for a test of his own on Monday, which caused scare in H-8/4 Commerce College and landed him in police lock-up.

A college professor, narrating the incident on condition of anonymity and using the initials MUA for the student, told Dawn that the teenager came `extra prepared` for the I.Com English Compulsory paper set for the day.

After writing the paper, MUA started looking for a buyer among the students for his illegal weapon that he had brought with him. Real trouble came when he fired two shots to prove to an interested student that his 30-bore pistol was in working condition.

Teachers of the college were gathering in a room for a meeting when the first shot rang out.

As they rushed out to investigate, another shot rang out and the teachers asked the guards to close all college gates.

Soon the teachers and other staff caught up with the culprit and disarmed him of his weapon and five bullets.

Police were called and two officers who came from the Industrial Area police station took him away.

Sources in the police station confided to Dawn that MUA is a resident of Sector I-10 and his father is a retired official of the Senate Secretariat.

`We have confirmed that it is an illegal weapon.

So a case will be registered against the boy,` the sources said.

They added that the boy told them that he did what he did because he urgently needed some money.

Station House Officer of Industrial Area Police Station Qasim Niazi, however, said investigation had started to find out why the teenage student had an illegal weapon and whether he was involved in any illegal activity.

`After investigation police will be able to say if the youngster was involved in criminal activities or not,` he said.

Only last week, the Crime Investigation Agency and the Anti Car-Lifting Cell of Islamabad police arrested seven members of a gang involved in stealing and snatching motorcycles and recovered six motorcycles and four pistols, with ammunition, from their possession.

All seven youngsters were residents of Islamabad. That negated the perception that immigrant settlers are to be blamed for the rising crime in the city.