Families to lose official quarters for sons’ crime

Resident officer says safety of residents university’s first priority.

LAHORE:

The Punjab University administration has issued notices to four university workers to vacate their quarters after their sons were arrested for street crime on Wednesday.

Sources in the PU said that Tauseef Mustafa, a resident of Nisbat Road, was beaten up and robbed by Usman, Kamran, Sohail and Ghazanfar Ali, who claimed to be Jamiat activists.

Mustafa, who was accompanying his grandfather to a nearby hospital, said that he had entered the university in the afternoon for a walk on the jogging track. He said he was stopped by the four men and taken to the university fish farms. He alleged they thrashed him and took his cash and mobile phone. He said he saw a security guard nearby, and started shouting for help. The four men fled. He said he and a few other guards then searched the premises. Kamran and Usman were caught. Sohail and Ali were later arrested on the basis of information gained from their accomplices. University administration said that they recovered the stolen cash and mobile phone from one of those arrested.

Javed Sami, the PU resident officer-1, told The Express Tribune that the arrested men had confessed. He said they were residents of J-22, J-67, IR-4 and IR-6 of the PU residential colony. He said a 10-day notice had been issued to the families.

“Their fathers have nothing to do with the incident, but we cannot allow them to stay in the official residence as it can be dangerous,” he said. He said there was no chance of a pardon.

SHO Inspector Imran Mehboob of Muslim Town police station said that the police had started the investigation. However, he said, no FIR had been registered yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2011.