Six teenagers detained after ‘harassment incident’ at KU

Six teenagers, who are said to be children of staffers of the University of Karachi (KU), were handed over by the KU administration to police on Thursday after students of the main campus of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), which is located inside the KU, complained on social media of an alleged harassment and intimidation incident at the KU.

Many users kept highlighting the issue on social media till late on Thursday night. They demanded that the authorities take immediate action against the perpetrators.

The issue surfaced when on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, an IBA student, Syed Shaheer Ali, shared on Facebook that he was harassed in KU while he was returning after dropping one of the female students at the IBA Girls Hostel.

He alleged that 10 young men harassed him after they surrounded him on four motorcycles. “It was about 11:30pm [when] I dropped her to the hostel and then me and my other female friend were headed towards Maskan,” he wrote and added that four motorcycles with a total of about 10 people on them suddenly appeared and surrounded his car, telling him while shouting to get off.

He said he started to tremble after that. “It was pitching dark in the KU, complete silence and we were stuck around the bushes. I tried my best to hold my nerves and pressed the accelerator to full as I tried to run away,” he wrote.

“As we ran and reached near IBA Boys Hostel, they came again and surrounded us forcing me to stop the car. That’s when they came to the car’s window banging and screaming Larki ko Bahar nikaal, Gaari Roukk, Bahar aa... [take the girl out, stop the car, get off].”

However, he managed to escape and informed the security guards on the Maskan gate of the varsity. “These guys looked around the age of 15 to 25 years but the barbaric look in their eyes was beyond what words can explain. We have informed IBA's management about this incident and admin is coordinating with us.”

KU Security Adviser Dr Moeez Khan told The News that the alleged harassers were minors aged between 10 and 16 years and the varsity administration after identifying them has handed over them to police.

They were the kids of the non-teaching staffers who usually take bikes on streets in the late evening. “It’s a very sensitive matter. However, the varsity officials have done their job. Within a few hours, the culprits were identified and now the case will be dealt by police.

He remarked that the KU administration was committed to provide safe environment to students. Muhammad Shahid, the SHO of the Mobina Town police station where the case has been registered, confirmed that police had detained six boys from the KU. “The arrests were made within the premises of the varsity,” he explained.

The officer added that raids were being carried out to arrest the remaining suspects. A statement issued by the IBA communication department read: “the recent incident of harassment involving the students of the IBA Karachi inside the KU premises is highly deplorable.”

The statement read that the IBA security personnel remained in coordination with the affected students and the law enforcement agencies. “The IBA is thankful to the KU security staff, the Police and the Rangers for their prompt action.”

The statement clarified that “usually the hostel residents are required to return to hostels by 10:30pm. However, extension is granted in case of family visits, academic events, gatherings etc. Even with these exceptions, cut-off time for return is 11:30pm. Any one failing to report back till such time is fined and parents are notified of the violation.”