KARACHI: Twenty-seven suspects, who were arrested on Wednesday soon after a third clash between activists of the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) and Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) in the University of Karachi, were remanded in jail custody on Thursday.

East-SSP Syed Irfan Bahadur said that members of the two student groups clashed again on Wednesday for a third time within a few weeks.

An FIR against 27 suspects was registered at the Mubina Town police station on the complaint of a KU official.

Mobina Town SHO Abdul Sattar Magsi said that a first clash between them had occurred about 20 days back over some issue in which one student affiliated with the ISO had suffered injuries on his eye. No one had approached the police for lodging an FIR.

A few days later, a second clash took place between the two groups but again no one turned up to lodge an FIR, he added.

On Wednesday, KU Security Adviser Salman Zubair lodged an FIR when a third clash took place between them.

In his complaint, the KU official said that he was present in his office at around 04:45pm when he was informed about the clash involving 100-150 students belonging to the IJT and ISO going on opposite the Teachers Education Department. He stated that he rushed to the spot along with KU security staff and saw the two groups attacking each other with clubs and rocks.

The complainant said that “we tried to restrain them but they also attacked us with stones”.

Eventually, he stated, law enforcers were called out and police and Rangers personnel rushed to the spot to disperse the embattled groups.

Police rounded up 27 of them while others managed to escape.

The FIR was registered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 427 and 337-A(i) of Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2024