FAISALABAD/ISLA­MABAD: Police on Friday removed a protest camp set up by the students of Government College Uni­versity, Faisa­labad, (GCUF) demanding the arrest and trial of culprits who raped, tortured and killed a student in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisa­labad.

The victim, a Masters student at the English department, was reportedly abducted near the university five days ago, on Sunday. Her body was recovered from a canal near Chak 83-GB on Wednesday.

A private TV channel reported that she was coming home from her university in a rickshaw, whose driver said that the victim was abducted by four men at gunpoint.

Following the murder, there was a wave of social media outrage reminiscent of the reaction after the rape and murder of Zainab earlier this year.

The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) took notice of the matter after the victim’s father Nadeem Ahmed appealed to the commission.

The NCHR directed the Faisalabad District Police Officer (DPO) to submit a detailed report by April 3.

NCHR’s senior consultant Mirza Idrees Baig in a letter stated that the commission had taken notice of the issue and sought a comprehensive report from the DPO.

Earlier in the day, the GCUF students staged a protest at Chenab Chowk outside the press club in Faisalabad. The protesters carrying banners and placards criticised the police for not acting and demanded immediate government intervention the case.

Speaking to Dawn, some of the students said that they had initially staged the protest in front of the university, but when the police forcibly removed them, the protest was moved to the press club.

Following increasing public pressure, Gulberg police station’s SHO Basharat Ali was suspended for not registering the case despite the victim’s father making several trips to the police station.

The victim’s brother, while speaking to a private TV channel, said: “We requested the police to register a case when she went missing, but they refused and asked us to inform them when we found the body.”

Emotional and distraught, he said after her funeral: “My sister cannot come back, but we must raise our voice and make sure other girls don’t face similar fates.”

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry visited the victim’s family and extended his deepest condolences, assuring them that the government was committed to tracking down the perpetrators and bringing them to justice. GCUF Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Ali told Dawn that a investigation was under way.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2018