Speeding bus kills student

Protesters block Islamabad Expressway, torch 7 vehicles

* Police fire teargas shells, resort to aerial firing for seven hours
* Rangers called out to disperse protesters
* Road users say district admin failed to pacify students

By Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: Police on Wednesday restored to baton-charge, teargas and aerial firing to disperse students protesting on Islamabad Expressway against a student’s killing by a speeding bus in the vicinity.

The students blocked the expressway for over eight hours and torched seven vehicles before police dispersed them.

The students took to Islamabad Expressway, IJ Principal Road and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road soon after Mansoor, a 3rd year student of Government Commerce College, H-8, died after being run over by a speeding bus near Faizabad chowk.

Police apprised the students of the bus driver’s arrest but they refused to go away until the alleged killer was punished on the spot.

There followed baton-charge of students by police. The students retaliated by pelting police with stones.

Police teargassed students to disperse them. As a result, the students spread all over the expressway.

People from nearby areas and the PML-N workers joined students, who later blocked Islamabad Expressway near Dhoke Kala Khan and began burning tyres.

Police fired teargas shells on the mob and resorted to aerial firing for seven long hours but the students stayed put. They later called Rangers for help and managed to disperse protestors.

The students set fire to seven vehicles including a police van and a CDA firefighting vehicle, and broke windowpanes of several private vehicles. Some policemen and protestors suffered injuries in the process. Police arrested a couple of protesters.

Top police officials, including SSP, Islamabad, Ahmad Latif, Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmad, SP Nasir Aftab, SP (Investigation) Sajid Kayani and SP (Headquarters) Mirwaise, were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad Expressway’s hours-long blockade inconvenienced people traveling between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The road users blamed their misery on the district administration’s failure to pacify enraged students.