At least 150 violent protesters were arrested in Rawalpindi as police used tear gas to disperse students demonstrating against the alleged rape of a Lahore student. Last week, reports related to the alleged rape of the private college student went viral on social media, prompting the police to arrest a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved in the incident. Enraged by the alleged incident, students mobilised on social media and staged protests outside different colleges in Lahore in the past few days. On Monday, at least 28 were injured due to clashes with the security guards of the college and police. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has declared that the alleged rape was “fabricated news”, blaming the PTI for spreading the “fake reports” on social media. Punjab Group of Colleges (PGC) group Director Agha Tahir and other office-holders have termed the incident “baseless”.

Speaking to a private TV Channel,  Rawalpindi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operation Hafiz Kamran Asghar said around 150 violent protesters had been arrested, adding that the situation was now completely under control. SSP Asghar said that they did not want to arrest students, however, if anyone tried to take the law into their hands under the guise of protests, legal action would be taken against them. “All the angles of the protest are being investigated,” the SSP said, adding that a heavy contingent of police has been deployed on the main roads outside the colleges in different areas of the city. “All the closed roads have also been opened,” SSP Asghar added. According to a post on Rawalpindi Police’s X account, police personnel have been deployed at various locations across the city. “Rawalpindi Police is fully prepared to deal with any law and order situation,” it said.

“Parents are requested to keep their children away from illegal activities, the future of children can be ruined in case of legal action,” the police added. The violent protests had already spread to other Punjab cities on Wednesday, where students of public as well as private institutes resorted to ransacking and torching different PGC campuses. The protests also claimed the life of a college security guard in the Gujrat district, for which at least 185 people were booked in a murder case. In Lahore, students gathered outside the Punjab College’s Campus 11, where they set fire to the parking area, shattered windows, and damaged doors. More than 450 people were named in cases filed over attacking and damaging PGC campuses in Gujrat’s Lalamusa and Kharian cities.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan