LAHORE: Unrest gripped the girl students of the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) when a university employee was caught making a video of an MBBS Part-I student in the washroom.

The victim caught the suspect and snatched his mobile phone from him for evidence where she found some objectionable clips.

The incident occurred at the Maqbool Block of the KEMU where about 700 female students are studying.

The university management allegedly hushed up the matter when it was brought to its notice. On finding the officials concerned unmoved, the victim informed her parents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

An official said the girl’s parents reached the university on Monday and ‘blasted’ the administration for not making adequate arrangements to ensure privacy, safety and protection of girls. He said the parents also warned to lodge a complaint against the KEMU’s higher authorities, holding them responsible for the highly objectionable crime after it transpired that the suspected man was an employee of the university.

Unrest among girl students

They were shocked when they noticed that the administration was trying to ‘save’ the suspect by hushing up the matter, the source said.

He said the incident had sparked a strong resentment and unrest among the female students as they feared that the suspect was a habitual criminal and he must have made objectionable videos of other girl students.

“The most worrying part of the development was the fear of the medical students that a nexus was behind the crime,” the official source claimed.

There are five combined washrooms for the female students. Each washroom has enough space at the top from where anyone can approach the adjoining washroom, the official said, adding anybody could also use the space to record videos on his mobile phone. The same had happened when the male suspect entered an adjoining washroom and made some clips of the girl, the source said.

The source said the MBBS students had earlier complained multiple times to the KEMU administration about the suspected movement of the male staff and ‘strangers’ in the washrooms designated for the female students but in vain.

Talking to Dawn, KEMU Vice Chancellor Prof Mahmood Ayaz said the university had taken notice of the incident and it was in contact with the girl’s family.

He said the suspect who committed the crime had been handed over to police.

“We are investigating the matter to take the culprit to the court of law for punishment to prevent such immoral incidents in future for the safety and security of the medical students,” Dr Ayaz adds.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2023