Student dies after fall from under-construction Bahria University building

Students boycott classes, stage protest outside campus against university administration

ISLAMABAD: A female student passed away after falling from the fourth floor of a building of Bahria University in Islamabad.

The incident took place on Thursday when the 23-year-old Haleema Amin fell from the fourth floor of an under-construction building in the varsity campus.

She was immediately taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after the fall and was later being moved to Combined Military Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

According to sources from the university, classes were shifted to the under-construction building where work on the terrace of the fourth floor was still in progress.

Following the incident, students boycotted their classes and staged a demonstration against the administration outside the university campus.

The roadblock demonstrations have been ongoing for hours.

Despite repeated attempts to contact the university, no official response was received until the filing of this report.

Students of Bahria University Islamabad gathered today in front of university's main block to raise voice for Haleema Amin. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari in a series of tweets stated that the death of the student raised a number of questions.

The minister questioned why the critically injured girl was moved out of PIMS and taken to CMH without her parents’ consent.

“At the very least this is a case of criminal negligence - Bahria University must be held responsible. It should come under federal jurisdiction so HEC and Ministry of Education so that criminal negligence proceedings can be instituted according to the law,” she said.

She further said that no one can be above the law and “we cannot keep treating our children with such fatal callousness”.

So that criminal negligence proceedings can be instituted according to the law. No one can be above the law and we cannot keep treating our children with such fatal callousness. #JusticeForHaleema

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) September 27, 2019

University management breaks silence

On Friday BU management released a statement expressing grief over the tragic incident, and condolences with the victim's family.

The statement read that the university and doctors made all efforts to save Amin's life but failed to do so as her injuries were quite severe.

It further dismissed all false allegations about the accident circulating the media saying, "... all such rumors about her committing suicide and all other negative thoughts being shared in the media are baseless".

The statement also read that the university management has initiated an investigation of the incident and the findings will be shared with all those concerned soon.