Holi celebrations at Sindu University disrupted

Police called in as university security guards 'break up' fight among students

HYDERABAD: Holi celebrations were disrupted at the Sindh University on Wednesday when around a dozen students marking the festival were allegedly roughed up by the varsity's private security guards with police having to be called in.

Associate Professor Amar Sindhu, who heads the philosophy department, told The Express Tribune that a couple of boys, one of whom had had his shirt torn, came to her complaining about how they had been roughed up. Under the impression that the guards and police may have stopped the students from celebrating Holi, she spoke to the varsity's security chief Ghulam Nabi Kaka.

"I felt outraged and fought with Kaka [over phone] but he assured that the university can never stop students from celebrating the religious festivities and the SU students and faculty celebrate Holi every year for several days."

She added that Kaka had received complaint from some teachers of the Arts Faculty that some boys were creating a disturbance in the faculty's garden, and that the guards had been sent to control the situation.

Kaka told The Express Tribune that they did not intend to arrest any student. "We acted to prevent the (alleged) fight from boiling over. The university has a history of small issues heating up into big clashes among students."

He said the guards did not beat any student but only broke them up and pushed them apart.

Sindhu further confirmed that Holi celebrations were allowed to resume after the brief fight.