LAHORE: The Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) on Tuesday removed the chairman of the Department of Forestry and Range Management and suspended him from university on the complaints of rape, physical assault, harassment and death threats to a female assistant professor of his department.

The university’s legal branch official notification, available with Dawn, states that the vice chancellor, exercising his powers under the BZU Act, has immediately debarred the professor from his role as the chairman and placed him under suspension, pending further investigation.

It says the decision was made in light of the sensitivity and gravity of the matter following charges of a serious nature and magnitude against the teacher.

The complaint was filed by an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry. In the complaint, seen by Dawn, addressed to the station house officer (SHO) of the DHA Police Station, Multan, the female teacher alleged that the incident took place on Sept 25, 2025, inside the chairman’s office. The complaint with same content was submitted to the university as well.

According to the complaint, the assault occurred after the chairman refused to comply with an unethical academic request. A female BS student had entered the office asking the chairman to direct a teacher to change her result. The female professor stated that she had voiced her professional opinion against such interference, calling it ‘unethical and unfair’.

Her stance reportedly provoked ‘extreme hostility’ by the chairman. Fearing a loss of dignity and to shield the student from inappropriate conduct, the female professor asked the student to leave the room. Immediately afterwards, she alleged, the chairman physically assaulted her.

“He physically attacked me in a completely unprovoked and violent manner,” the female teacher stated in her complaint, detailing that he “slapped me in the face and on the body, and violently pulled my hair.” She further accused him of rape and stated that he threatened to kill her if she reported the incident.

The female teacher said she initially tried to endure the injustice silently but felt “humiliation, emotional suffering, and repeated injustice” unbearable.

She he demanded suspension of the chairman, a formal inquiry by a neutral committee, strict disciplinary and legal action and protection for her safety and well-being.

The BZU spokesperson said the administration had called an emergency meeting of the harassment committee after receiving the complaint. He said the chairman was not available to attend the meeting of the committee as he was out of town.

He said that the administration suspended him from the university and removed from the post of chairman.

Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali Dogar told Dawn that a rape case had been registered against the BZU professor. He said that the investigation would be conducted to check all the allegations levelled against the professor by his colleague.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025