LAHORE: The Punjab University (PU) on Monday suspended Agricultural Officer Rana Qurban Ali for allegedly torturing journalist Abdul Manan and directed him to submit a written reply within five days. Disciplinary action was also initiated against Qurban’s friends who had helped him in beating and trying to abduct Manan on December 3.
The PU resident officer-II (RO-II) has written to the Law College principal and sports sciences and physical education department chairman to take disciplinary action against Qurban who is studies law at the college in the evening and Muhammad Zubair Iqbal, a student of the sports sciences department.
The RO-II also forwarded the issue to PU Vice Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran for his perusal. A first information report (FIR) had already been registered against the students in the Muslim Town Police Station on Manan’s complaint.
Separately, a judicial magistrate returned Qurban’s bail application directing him to file it before the competent court. Civil Jude cum Judicial Magistrate Bushra Farid Khalsana returned the application directing the accused to file it before a magistrate of Section 30, who was the competent authority to entertain the bail applications of offences under Section 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Qurban was accused of kidnapping and thrashing journalist of an English daily newspaper reporter Abdul Manan at the PU along with seven other accomplices.
Qurban was in the jail on judicial remand since December 4. Muslim Town Police on December 3 registered a FIR against the accused under sections 364 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, accused Qurban and his accomplices including Ibrar Ahmed, Qasim Ali, Shujaur Rehman and four other unidentified people attacked Manan and tried to kidnap him in their car.
According to the FIR, Manan was returning to his office after attending a conference at the PU. Qurban’s car hit a motorcycle carrying a man and two women near the Squash Complex who were severely injured. Manan said that he had helped the man in taking his relative to the hospital. After seeing them going on the motorcycle, Qurban dragged Manan from his collar accusing him of helping them in fleeing from the scene.
Manan said that within no time, on Qurban’s phone call, seven Islami Jamiat-e-Talba (IJT) activists reached the scene and started beating him. Manan said that they put him into the car and tried to take him to some other place intending to kill him but other reporters also reached the spot and saved him from the attackers.
