Punjab University student 'shot dead' on campus

A student of the Punjab University in Lahore has allegedly been murdered on campus within the institution's premises on Thursday, triggering protests in the New Campus.

The News has reported that the PU administration has denied that the murder took place, instead terming it "a mysterious death". 

Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has alleged that the murder happened on campus. 

Progressive Students Collective (PSC), a left-leaning student group, claimed in a social media post: “Today [Yesterday, December 5], a student of Gender Studies in Punjab University named Ammar Rana was murdered inside the campus in broad daylight.”

PSC condemned the murder while questioning the state of security inside the University campus and the administration’s denial in an attempt to silence protesting students.

However, amid conflicting reports, the most dominant ones suggest that Rana Ammar Akhtar, a 22-year-old Gender Studies student from Kasur, was fatally wounded in a shooting incident. He was immediately rushed to the nearby Shaikh Zayed Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. 

The victim suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest, stomach, and leg. 

His body was handed over to the police for postmortem examination.

The details leading up to the incident suggest that the deceased student, Rana Ammar, along with three friends of the Department of Gender Studies Dilawar and Huzaifa, were sitting in their car outside PC Dhaba when the pistol in Huzaifa's hands went off, and three bullets hit Ammar in the chest.

Huzaifa immediately fled the scene while Dilawar took Ammar to Sheikh Zaid Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

However, police took Dilawar into custody.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) operations Faisal Kamran told Dawn that three students, who were also friends, were sitting in a car outside a cafeteria on the new campus of the university when their gun went off, claiming the life of the said victim.

Following the tragic murder, Islami Jamiat Talaba students staged a protest outside the campus, which resulted in severe traffic disruptions on some of the busiest roads of the city- Canal Road, Barkat Market, and nearby areas. 

Police was deployed at the scene to control the situation and prevent it from deteriorating further. 

However, after negotiations with the protesters, the students eventually dispersed and the road was reopened for traffic. 

Videos of the protesting students vandalising the university’s admin block and later staging a sit-in flooded social media.

Notably, Punjab University officials conducted a press conference and reiterated their version of the story, stating that their investigation found no evidence of a shooting incident on campus.

They said that security staff reviewed CCTV footage from all locations mentioned by the Jamiat protestors yet found no signs of gunfire, bullet shells, blood, or eyewitness accounts to support their claim.

While accusing IJT of politicising the situation and manipulating the students, the Punjab University officials informed the media that the deceased student was a relative of a University administrative officer. 

The administration said that while they regretted the student’s death, they have investigated that the student is the nephew of PU’s admin officer Rana Irshad, and according to him, the deceased had no connection with any student organisation.

They said the PU administration will not get blackmailed by anyone stating the damage caused to the admin block by the IJT students. Officials requested that the media, students, teachers, and employees not believe in hearsay.

Additionally, they said that the university administration is in contact with the police for investigation.

Meanwhile, University teachers and students are calling for an independent investigation to uncover the truth behind the incident and ensure campus safety, as the frequency of these incidents has intensified in the previous month.