KARACHI: Police have detained three people allegedly involved in assaulting Professor Arif Khan Saqi, head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Karachi.
According to police, the senior professor was travelling to the University of Karachi in an online taxi when the vehicle stopped at a location and a double-cabin vehicle hit it while reversing.
Police said that following the collision, the son of a local hotel owner and his armed guards, who were travelling in the double-cabin, allegedly assaulted the professor. They allegedly struck him on the head with the butt of a pistol, pushed him and dragged him into a restaurant, where he was allegedly beaten again.
Police said the three detained suspects are employees of the hotel, while efforts are underway to trace and arrest other people allegedly involved in the incident.
Speaking about the incident, Professor Arif Saqi said he had asked the occupants of the double-cabin to compensate the online taxi driver for the damage caused to his vehicle, as the driver was a poor young man. In response, he alleged, the hotel owner’s son hit him with a pistol butt and resorted to aerial firing.
The University of Karachi Teachers’ Association condemned the assault on Professor Saqi and called on senior authorities to take notice of the incident and ensure that those responsible are punished.
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FIR Registered
Police have also registered a case over the alleged assault on the University of Karachi professor.
The FIR was registered at Sachal Police Station on the complaint of Professor Arif Khan Saqi against Koneen Ali Gohar Shah and other accused persons.
The case includes charges relating to attempted murder, assault, causing injuries and wrongful confinement.
According to the FIR, two armed guards allegedly assaulted the professor and his nephew. The complainant said that they had demanded compensation after their vehicle was damaged at Safora Chowk.
The FIR states that after sustaining injuries, the accused allegedly took the professor and his nephew to a hotel, where they were allegedly confined and subjected to further assault.
Professor Saqi also alleged in the FIR that the accused resorted to aerial firing and took his nephew’s vehicle away with them.
According to the complaint, police reached the scene and recovered the professor and his nephew, while the accused fled from the spot.
