By Shamsul Islam Naz
FAISALABAD, May 29: As a sequel to the GC University issue involving alleged sexual harassment of a girl student by vice-chancellor, six varsity students filed an application seeking registration of a criminal case against top campus management for threatening them with ‘dire consequences’.
The tug of war has been going on between the students and Vice-Chancellor Dr Asif Iqbal, being supported by some faculty members, for the last five days following a clash between MNA Dr Nisar Ahmed and the VC, who was accused by an LLB student of subjecting her to sexual harassment in his retiring room.
The students— Farrukh Gill, Ali Bilal, Muhammad Tanveer, Akhtar Ali, Adil Jat, Waqas Ahmed— claimed in their application to Gulberg police on Monday that they had staged a demonstration on the campus to protest against the incident.
They said it was a serious matter involving honour of a girl and nobody could be allowed to disgrace students in the varsity.
They demanded registration of a case against Dr Asif Iqbal, Faculty of Sciences Dean Shahid Mehboob Rana and Law department head Jawed Aslam Bajwa for threatening them to ruin their academic career if they supported the ‘victim’.
Gulberg police confirmed that they received the application but no action had so far been taken in this regard.
On the other hand, the varsity’s Directorate of Students Affairs reportedly prepared a draft declaring 14 students as trouble-makers so that they could be expelled from the campus.
However, no formal orders had so far been issued by the registrar or the vice-chancellor in this regard.
PROBE BEGINS: On the orders of Punjab governor, Additional Secretary (Education) Ahmed Kamal, visited the GC University and recorded statements of hostel warden Sabahat Qamar, students’ affairs in charge Ali Usman, Prof Ghulam Ghous and two other faculty members.
The vice-chancellor, in his statement before the inquiry officer, made various claims in his defence, terming the whole incident a mudslinging campaign against him.
He claimed that he was being targeted because he took revolutionary steps to improve the institution’s performance.
Mr Kamal also recorded the alleged victim’s statement who reiterated her earlier stance saying the vice-chancellor had tried to molest her in his retiring room when she visited his chamber to get her hostel room transferred.
Another student, Farrukh Ahmed, submitted in his statement that he was informed of the incident by the ‘victim’ herself when she was leaving the vice-chancellor’s chamber. He said that after receiving the call he rushed to VC office where he found the girl crying. She then narrated the entire incident, he said.
However, some students — Tallal Chaudhry, Master Aziz, Rana Sami, Nazia, Wasif Shah and Azhar — of the Law department defended the vice-chancellor before the inquiry officer.
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