Facebook post on 'another possible motorway incident' inside KU premises causes outrage on social media

Published October 8, 2020
Picture shows a student inside an academic institution. — Dawn/File
Picture shows a student inside an academic institution. — Dawn/File

Netizens took to social media to voice their anger after a Facebook user shared a chilling account of being followed and harassed by a group of men inside the Karachi University (KU) campus.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Syed Shaheer Ali said that he was accompanied by two female friends, one of whom he dropped off at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) girls' hostel, which is situated inside the Karachi University campus. He said that he was on his way back with his friend, when a group of men on motorcycles surrounded the car, shouting for them to get out of the vehicle.

Ali said that he drove away from the men and reached the IBA hostel for boys. However, the men once again surrounded the car, banging on the windows and screaming: "Larki ko bahar nikal, gaari rouk [Get the girl out, stop the car]".

However, the two managed to shake off the group of men — who, Ali said, seemed to be between 15-25 years of age — and informed the guards of the incident. He added that his friend was in a state of shock after the ordeal and he has been unable to sleep peacefully, describing the incident as "another possible motorway incident".

"The point of sharing all this is that we miraculously escaped this horrible situation and it's our duty to inform all of you to be very cautious so that this doesn't happen with anyone of you," he said in the post. He added that he had informed the university administration, which was coordinating with them.

Ali, in his post, was referring to a rape incident that took place on the Lahore-Sialkot motorway last month, where a woman was gang-raped in front of her children. The main suspect of the case is still on the run.

Speaking to Dawn.com today, IBA Head of Marketing and Communications Haris Tohid termed the incident highly deplorable.

"The security and safety of students, staff and faculty members is paramount to IBA Karachi and as soon as the incident was reported to the management, the matter was taken up with the KU security personnel, the police and the Rangers.

"Throughout this time, IBA security personnel remained in coordination with the affected students and law enforcement agencies." He added that the varsity's campus, the hostels and the employees’ residential complex, housed inside the KU premises, were under 24/7 CCTV surveillance and secured by round-the-clock security.

The post was shared more than 4,000 times on Facebook and became a trending topic on Twitter as people expressed outrage and shock over the incident inside a university campus. 'Karachi University is not safe' was among the top trends on Twitter throughout the day as people used the hashtag to demand an investigation of the incident.

Twitter user Muhammad Wahab, while sharing screenshots of the Facebook post, said: "KU needs literally to get this investigated and increase its security. Now we must take strict action against them. Thank God to hear that you guys were saved but the trauma you faced is speechless."

Another user Zafar Dar recalled that his wife and himself had noticed that the "wild grass and trees need(ed) immediate trimming as the road from Maskan to IBA looks like a jungle and it's not safe for girls".

Twitter user Aaisha said that the reported incident had "scared [her] so bad" as she usually walks down the same road at night.

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