Rawalpindi police arrested at least 250 students on Thursday for violence during protests following an alleged on-campus rape in a Lahore college as the agitation spilled over to other cities of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
The protests started on Monday across four boys' and girls' campuses of the privately-owned Punjab Group of Colleges after reports on social media that a female student had allegedly been raped by a security guard at the Gulberg girls' campus in Lahore.
The suspect was taken into custody, the police said but he has refuted the allegation.
Denying the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz blamed incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for spreading fake news on social media.
On Wednesday, a large number of students held demonstrations in Jehlum, Faisalabad, and Gujrat, demanding justice for the alleged rape victim.
On Thursday, protests spread across Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Attock, Sargodha, and Vehari districts of Punjab.
The student protesters ransacked a college building in Rawalpindi, forcing police to fire tear gas to disperse them.
Later, 250 students were taken into custody, the police said.
The police said legal actions were being taken against those involved in disrupting peace. The guilty would be punished, they added.
"Police personnel have been deployed at various locations across the city," Rawalpindi Police said on X, adding that it was fully prepared to deal with any law and order situation.
“Parents are requested to keep their children away from illegal activities. The future of children can be ruined in case of legal action,” it added.
"Students clashed with security guards of the Punjab College Gujrat and the police, causing critical injury to three students and the death of one security guard yesterday (Wednesday)," a senior police official told PTI on Thursday.
He said Azhar Hussain, the security guard, was killed during the violent attack by students.
"A murder case has been registered against about 200 students," he said.
The police have also registered cases against over 400 students for attacking and damaging the chain of Punjab group of colleges owned by Dunya media group in Gujrat.
Maryam has vowed to deal with the protesters with an iron hand and said those spreading fake news on social media would be arrested.
On Thursday, the police arrested a YouTuber in this connection.
Many student organisations, including the Insaf Student Federation, Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), Red Workers Front, Progressive Students Collective and Tehreek-e-Labbaik, have expressed solidarity with the protesters.
The Progressive Students’ Collective, a student organisation that held an anti-harassment rally on Tuesday, said it would continue to expand protests “until and unless the demands of students are met”. The post on X did not specify the demands.
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