KARACHI - A student was gunned down and another wounded in a clash between rival student unions at the Saifee Technical College on Monday.
Students were submitting their semester forms, when four unidentified gunmen, riding on bikes, barged into the college and restored to indiscriminate firing. Afterwards, scores of Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT) workers gathered outside the campus giving vent to their anger against the firing incident. A massive contingent of law enforcers rushed, but failed to bring the situation under control. The security personnel were maltreated by the protesters, who also destroyed one of the police mobile vans. In a bid to placate the protest, the law enforcers had to make use of teargas shells and other lethal tools.
In the meantime, two IJT workers, namely Hafiz Muhammad Arif and Atif, son of Abdul Shakoor, received bullet wounds. They were ferried to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), where Arif succumbed to his injures, while Atif, a first year student (Electrical Department) was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). His condition was stated to be stable. The deceased student was a resident of Orangi Town No 10 and a student of second year (Mechanical Department). Medico-Legal Officer Dr Zahoor claimed that Hafiz Arif received a bullet of SMG or AK-47 on the neck. The autopsy report was reserved.
When contacted, DSP Abdul Rasheed dispelled the impression that the two students were victimised by the law enforcers, saying that both students sustained bullet wounds before the arrival of the police contingent. The DSP, who was certain about the exact number of the gunmen, claimed that some four to six unidentified armed riders opened indiscriminate firing on the college premises that might have killed one student and injured another.
He also said the contingent of law enforcers was maltreated and 12 people had been taken into custody in this respect.
Meanwhile, the college administration has announced to suspend all educational activities for the next three days.
Talking to this scribe, spokesman for the IJT alleged that the law enforcers were patronising a student organisations against IJT workers.
He condemned the incident and demanded the authorities to take responsible to the task.
He termed the reported students’ clashes as conspiracy aimed at destroying peace in educational institutions. Meanwhile, officials of the APMSO said they always supported and promoted peace and harmony in educational institutions.