HYDERABAD, Feb 27 A group of students armed with clubs forced boycott of classes on Friday and held a demonstration in protest against what they termed as harassment by security guards posted at the Sindh University vice-chancellor's house who suffered injuries in a clash with students late on Thursday night.

According to reports, a group of students on motorcycles and security guards exchanged hot words, which led to a scuffle after the group came back with their colleagues.

The enraged students threw stones at the VC's house and resorted to aerial firing. Jamshoro police arrived at the scene but refused to intervene.

The students then went away and staged a sit-in at the hostel gates.

As soon as classes started on Friday, the group armed with clubs not only forced the students to boycott classes but also tortured some. Later, they held a sit-in at the Zero Point. The group's leaders Kamran Bhalai, Ameer Brohi, Farhan Memon and G.M. Jatoi claimed that students who were going to hostels last night were harassed by security guards. When two students went to the VC house to lodge complaint, the guards snatched their motorcycles and subjected them to torture, they said and added that when their colleagues knew about the incident they joined them and a scuffle took place. The university employees also boycotted their duties, wore black armbands and staged a sit-in outside the vice-chancellor's office, raising slogans against police and university administration.

The employees' leaders Ghulam Nabi Bhalai, Akhtiar Channa and Atta Pathan alleged that some students, who were dead drunk, attacked them at the vice-chancellor's house and snatched their weapons. They said that police reached there but took no action against the miscreants. They demanded that the vice-chancellor cancel the admissions of the rowdy students, otherwise, they would launch a movement from Monday.

The injured guards Anwar Nohani, Mohammad Ali Bhalai and Abdul Hussain Nohani were admitted to Liaquat University Hospital Jamshoro.

Police have registered a case against 50 students on a complaint lodged by Mohammad Ali, one of the security guards.