Another official killed on Peshawar University Campus

PESHAWAR: Saqlain Bangash, a familiar face at the University of Peshawar, was killed on Sunday.

Police said the security official, Saqlain Bangash, was critically wounded when a pistol fell from the hands of guard Masood “mistakenly” while opening a gate and went off. The police said the wounded man was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The killing at the hands of a security guard, the second tragedy of identical nature on the same campus within two weeks, not only increased the fears of the inmates of the walled campus but also cast serious questions over the security situation at the heavily-fortified university.

The absence of CCTV footage for the specific duration when the tragedy took place deepened the apprehensions of those concerned by the tragedy. The campus police and university administration termed the incident a mere accident.

The reports circulated by police and university administration said a pistol was dropped by a security guard, which went off and left Saqlain injured. He was rushed to the nearby Khyber Teaching Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The security guard fled but was arrested later. Police took the pistol and empty shells from the scene, registered a first information report and started an investigation, police officials say.

The University of Peshawar’s administration expressed grief over the incident and formed a seven-member committee, headed by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Zahid Anwar, to probe the matter and submit its report within 10 days.

The university administration, however, described Saqlain Bangash as a former employee and current security supervisor at the Sigma Security Company.

The carefully drafted press release by the university administration stated: “The University values the services rendered by Saqlain Bangash and the University’s faculty, officers, students, and staff are much grieved by his sad and unfortunate demise and condole with the bereaved family members.”

The funeral for the deceased was offered on the campus before his body was shifted to his native town Hangu for burial.

There was great resentment among the faculty, administrative staff and students of the university over the incident.

Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta) condemned what it referred to as “the apparent killing of Saqlain Bangash”. The teachers’ association demanded of Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — Chancellor of the University of Peshawar — to remove Vice-Chancellor Dr Idrees “for the innumerable lapses in duties including the apparent murder of Saqlain Bangash in cold blood.”

“The chancellor may also authorise a transparent investigation of this sad event as well as a recent similar episode at Islamia College, Peshawar. The current vice-chancellors of the two adjacent universities are not fair, professional and competent enough to ensure an unbiased investigation into the matters,” the statement read.

The PUTA demanded an immediate psychological assessment of the security personnel, end to ad hocism besides sacking the vice-chancellor or they would go on a complete strike.

Student organisations expressed shock and condemnation as well over the tragic incident. They also staged a protest in the university to condemn the killing and force the university administration and other quarters concerned to look properly into the situation and shoulder their prime responsibility of protecting the lives of professors, students, officials and other inmates of the campus.

The matter is not as simple as described by the police and the university administration. It requires an unbiased and transparent investigation, said an official of the university.

Talking to The News, he said that Saqlain arrived at the hostel at around 11am. The CCTV footage of his arrival and having tea with the guards showed that there was no tension between him and the guards. Later, the CCTV recording stopped owing the power outage and during this time, the sad incident occurred, he said.

Saqlain entered the university campus in the 70s as a primary student at the Islamia Collegiate School. He completed his graduation from the historic Islamia College and post-graduation from the University of Peshawar.

During his student life, he was an active member of the Pakhtun Student Federation. After completing his study, he was not ready to leave the campus and joined it as an employee and served there in different capacities till his retirement in 2017.

Even after his retirement, he was not ready to leave the campus. He rented a house near the campus and continued doing some jobs at the university relating to security in the hostel. Later, he joined a private security company’s project at the same university.

His specific hair style, his spectacles and mustache made him unique in the university. Contrary to his appearance, he was a very fine gentleman and extremely down to earth. Owing to his lasting association with the university, he had become a regular feature of the university.

Saqlain left four sons and a widow to mourn his death. His elder son is pursuing his BS-Computer Science at the University of Peshawar and his other sons are school going with the elder among them studying in Grade 10.

Recently, a similar tragedy happened at the historic Islamia College where an English literature teacher Bashir Ahmad was brutally murdered by the watchman of his own university.