LARKNA: The chief justice of Sindh High Court has taken suo motu notice of the recent manhandling of Prof Abdul Jabbar Junejo, posted at the Govt Degree College (Boys), Shahdadkot, allegedly by a group of land-grabbers. The chief justice has asked director colleges, Larkana region, to immediately furnish a report of the incident, according to sources in the education department.

Prof Junejo was attacked and manhandled by about 10 persons, who for some time had allegedly been attempting to occupy a vacant plot belonging to the college.

The faculty of the college had been resisting their attempts. On Tuesday last, residents of the neighbourhood along with teachers of the college held protest demonstrations in different parts of Shahdadkot against the attackers.

The director has asked principal of the college for such a report which could be filed in the high court. A copy of the communication has also been provided to the Qambar-Shahdadkot district and sessions court.

The local chapter of the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) also held a protest demonstration on Wednesday after discussing the issue at its meeting in the college.

The meeting noted that the land-grabbers had in the past also attacked former principal of the college Prof Ahmed Nawaz Kango.

Meanwhile, on the complaint of Prof Junejo vide FIR No 141/2020 the A-Section police of Shahdadkot arrested Maula Bakhsh Magsi and Ali Gul Magsi and launched a hunt for other nominated suspects including Khuda Bakhsh Magsi.

SPLA regional president Prof Syed Ghulam Asghar Shah on Friday said that the college principal had submitted a report of the incident which would be furnished to the high court on Saturday.

Qambar-Shahdadkot De­­p­­uty Commissioner Javed Ahmed Jagirani on Thurs­day visited the college and received a briefing from the faculty members. He noted that some influential people had been eying the plot, which, according to the revenue record, belonged to the college.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2020