Police called in as three student groups clash over cultural event at Punjab University

LAHORE: Punjab University administration called in police to disperse enraged students belonging to three students groups clashing over a cultural event on Monday (today), ARY News reported.

According to official sources at the varsity, a heavy contingent of police personnel have been called in to control the situation after the clashes broke out between two nationalists and a religious party’s student group.

One of the groups vandalized the electrical engineering department of the varsity and set a research lab on fire during the clashes. They also damaged vehicles parked near the department.

The violence triggered at the varsity when a group of students, busy in preparations of Pioneer Festival, came under attack by the rival group.

The doors of the varsity were closed for media persons and other unauthorized people after the disturbance.

Talking to ARY News, Vice-chancellor Dr Zakriya Zakar said stern action will be taken against individuals responsible for stoking chaos at the university campus.

Without citing a name of any student group, he said brilliant students hailing from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are enrolled at the university but some criminal elements disguised as students are creating hurdles in academic affairs of the varsity.

“It was a pre-planned conspiracy to defame the varsity,” he asserted.

He said the varsity officials are monitoring the overall situation and the FIRs will be registered against students taking law into own hands.

Rivalry between nationalists and religious groups

According to our correspondent, the rival groups had earlier clashed on March 21, 2017. As many as 18 students were injured in the clashes erupted last year at the varsity.

One of the student groups was celebrating ‘Pashtun Culture Day’ at the university when a rival student group attacked its members.

The attack resulted in fierce clashes between the two student groups in the campus. They also set on fire the camp of the students celebrating the cultural day.

The University administration then shrugged off blame and said that the incident was cause by the sound system. A university official said that Police were alerted and  reached the site of the incident which diffused the situation.