KARACHI: Two vice-chancellors of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) Larkana and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari (BBSUL) have been sent on forced leaves to initiate a thorough inquiry into allegations of harassment and deaths of female students.
The action was taken following the directives of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah following the mysterious deaths of two female students in SMBBMU Larkana and harassment of a Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) of Sindh at BBSUL.
SMBBMU Larkana VC Dr Anila Ataur Rehman and BBSUL VC Professor Akhtar Baloch have been sent on 45-day forced leaves.
The charge of acting vice-chancellor of SMBBMU Larkana has been given to Prof Hakim Ali Abro from the same university, whereas, Prof Dr Amjad Siraj Memon was given an additional charge of BBSUL.
Moreover, the chief minister constituted an inquiry committee to probe into the serious allegations which will be headed by Dow University’s vice-chancellor Professor Dr Saeed Qureshi. The inquiry committee will present its report to the Sindh CM within 45 days.
Dr Nosheen Kazmi’s death: suicide or murder?
Dr Nausheen Kazmi, a fourth-year MBBS student, had found hanging from a ceiling fan in the hostel room of Larkana’s Chandka Medical College on November 24 last year.
Dr Nosheen Kazmi’s death had been declared a suicide, however, the claims were denied by her family and demanded a judicial inquiry. It may be noted that it was not the first case of a student’s death at Chandka Medical College affiliated with Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) in Larkana.
Shocking revelations emerge in Dr Nosheen, Nimrita death cases after DNA test
Dr Nosheen Kazmi was the granddaughter of a well-known Dadu poet, Ustad Bukhari.
Dr Nimrita death case
Dr Nimrita Amarta Mahar Chandani [Dr Nimrita Kumari], a BDS final-year student at Bibi Aseefa Dental College (BADC) of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU), had found dead in her hostel room in Larkana on September 16, 2019.
Nimrita’s autopsy had confirmed that she was sexually assaulted before her death and murdered by strangulation after rape using a rope-like thing or material.
Harassment of MPA Shazia Karim Sanghar
A sitting lawmaker of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the Sindh Assembly, Shazia Karim Sanghar had accused BBMUL VC Professor Dr Akhtar Baloch of harassing her by sending her immoral stickers through WhatsApp.
Shazia Karim Sanghar had also registered a complaint with Sindh Minister for Boards and Universities Ismail Rahu. It is important to mention here that Shazia Karim Sanghar is one of the syndicate members of the medical university in Lyari.
The PPP lawmaker had also lodged a complaint to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cybercrime wing against the alleged online harassment besides raising the issue with PPP leadership.