RAWALPINDI: Local courts on Friday ordered the release of 388 students arrested for holding violent protests against the alleged rape of a student in Lahore a day earlier.

As many as 367 of the students arrested in the garrison city were discharged from the cases by concerned courts of judicial magistrates while 21 others were granted bail in Wah Saddar.

The police rounded up the students after baton charging and lobbing them with teargas to push them back from roads. However, there was no protest by students in any part of the Rawalpindi district on Friday.

The students arrested for vandalism in private colleges were produced in the courts of judicial magistrates Yasir Tanveer, Jahanzeb Aman Hafeez and Azmat Hayat.

As many as 367 students discharged from cases while 21 others granted bail in Wah Saddar

According to police sources, 112 students were detained by the Morgah police, 77 by the Airport police, six by Gujar Khan police, 21 by Wah Saddar police, 168 by New Town police and four by Naseerabad police.

All of the arrested students were produced in the concerned area courts. The courts discharged 367 students from the cases while 21 others arrested by the Sadar Wah police were granted bail.

On the other hand, Judicial Magistrate Naima Ifat in Islamabad granted bail to 14 of 17 students arrested in the capital while three others were sent to jail on judicial remand.

The Islamabad police produced the 17 students before the judicial magistrate who granted bail to 14 students on the surety bonds of Rs5000 each.

The Wah Saddar police produced the 21 students before a judicial magistrate at the Taxila Judicial Complex with a request for the judicial remand of some of them. However, the court dismissed the plea.

Parents of the students gathered outside the court as the students were led inside with many carrying schoolbags, showing their young age.

The court, while ordering their release, issued a stern warning to the students to avoid future disruptions.

The judge also advised their parents to take responsibility for their children’s behaviour, emphasising the importance of focusing on their education.

Following the violent protests by students, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure banning all kinds of protests, processions and public gatherings across the province for two days (Friday and Saturday).

In addition, all educational institutions, both in public and private sectors, were closed on Friday.

According to a senior official, the Punjab government on the basis of intelligence reports had asked the commissioner and deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi to take steps to avert any protest by students after the conclusion of the SCO summit in Islamabad.

However, the district administration apparently did not take it seriously which led to the violent protests by students. The district police had chalked out a security plan and made deployment to maintain law and order.

— Amjad Iqbal contributed to this story from Taxila

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024