LAHORE, Nov 13: Guards of the Punjab University vice-chancellor on Thursday allegedly tortured an Old Campus hostel student fracturing his leg, while a varsity spokesman claimed that he was injured while climbing a wall.

Police also arrested two Punjab University students for ‘misbehaving’ with the VC and some teachers.

Motorists faced the brunt of the clash between students and the varsity administration for hours as traffic remained choked for hours along the canal when activists of a students wing took to the street (to register their protest).

On Thursday noon, Vice-Chancellor Mujahid Kamran along with Hall Council Chairman Prof Dr Saeed Ahmad Nagra and other teachers visited Khalid bin Waleed Hostel in Anarkali where most of the Oriental and Law colleges’ (constituent institutions of PU) students are boarding.

According to some PU students, the clash between the visiting team and the students took place when the former questioned the stay of Abdul Hafeez in the hostel. Hafeez, what the administration said, had been expelled from the varsity for taking part in ‘political’ activities.

The exchange of harsh words between the VC and Hafeez resulted in ‘severe beating’ of the latter at the hands of the former’s guards, the students said, and added that they (guards) nabbed two other students who came to rescue him and handed them over to the New Anarkali police. They have been identified Sabir Husain of Kashmiryat Department and Yasir, whose status is yet to be cleared whether he is a student or an outsider. Hafeez was taken to Mayo Hospital.

Anarkali SHO Bashir Ahmad told Dawn that an FIR would be registered after consultation with the varsity administration.

The PU administration on the other hand has portrayed an altogether a different picture. Its spokesman, Shabbir Sarwar, said: “Upon receiving complains from the students that they could not get possession of their allotted rooms in the hostels, the vice-chancellor along with other teachers visited the hostel and warned the illegal occupants to vacate the rooms.”

He said: “Former IJT Nazim Abdul Hafeez to whom the VC had already warned during his last week visit to leave the hostel, misbehaved with him and other senior teachers and also ‘pushed them and throw chairs’ on them.”

“PU students captured one of them, identified as Sabir, while other outsiders managed to flee. They beat him and later handed him over to police. Hafeez sustained injuries while climbing a wall,” he maintained.

He said the Islami Jamiat Tulaba (IJT) had captured room Nos 107, 106, 69, 84, 89, 99, 50, 121, 26, 184, 114, 200 and 108 in the Old Campus hostel.

The IJT condemned the torture and arrest of the students. Its spokesman, Qaisar Sharif, admitted that Hafeez had been rusticated, but his case was pending with the civil court thereby he was ‘entitled’ to stay in the hostel till the decision. He claimed that the administration handed over four students to police.

In fact, he said, the varsity administration had taught a ‘lesson’ to those who were protesting against fee increase, ‘compulsory’ charge of Rs700 per month against mess services from every boarder and other irregularities in hostel affairs. He urged the chancellor to probe the incident.

Some senior teachers said they were surprised over the ‘mishandling’ of the matter by the administration. “It is a childish act on the part of the VC to visit hostels in order to check outsiders.” They said if the VC was sincere in kicking out the outsiders from the varsity, he should launch an ‘organised operation’ in the hostels.

They said the hall council chairman, who is supposed to look after all hostel affairs, was just discharging the duty of allotments in girls’ hostels, and the department heads in boys’ hostels.

Hall Council Chairman Saeed Nagra told Dawn that the administration had already launched an operation against the outsiders and flushed out a number of illegal occupants from the New Campus hostels.

Following the incident, a good number of students led by IJT activists held a demonstration at the News Campus Bridge that threw traffic out of gear for more than two hours on Canal Road and adjoining arteries. The protesters also burnt tyres and damaged a bus. Police reached the spot and dispersed them.

MEETING: A meeting of all the heads of teaching departments and superintendents and wardens of PU hostels will be held on Nov 17 to resolve the problems of boarders.