KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Thursday granted bail to five college students arrested on Wednesday for allegedly carrying out aerial firing during an event described by authorities as ‘batch bunk’ in the Seaview area.

The investigating officer produced the five suspects — Bilal Akhund, Jabber Khan, Muzammil, Rajab Ali, and Shaheer Khan— before Judicial Magistrate (South) Mazhar Ali and sought their 14-day physical remand for further investigation.

The IO informed the court that they had to apprehend their accomplices.

However, defence counsel opposed the plea and moved their bail applications, stating that the offences were bailable.

The magistrate granted bail to the held students against a surety bond of Rs20,000 each.

The five students, along with around 600-700 others, have been booked in a case pertaining to aerial firing, rash driving, etc.

On Feb 28, hundreds of male and female students of private educational institutions in DHA thronged the Seaview area in their cars and SUVs as part of their ‘batch bunk’ plan, blocked the main road for vehicular traffic in the morning and some of them resorted to aerial firing.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2024