At least 27 people were injured after students clashed with a college’s security team and then with the police in Lahore during a protest against the alleged on-campus rape of a girl, rescue officials said on Monday.

A day prior, a security guard was arrested after news related to the alleged rape of the student went viral on social media. According to a police statement, the suspect had been arrested and an investigation was underway.

It, however, added that a first information report (FIR) of the incident had not been registered as the family members of the victim had not come forward to lodge it.

Enraged by the alleged incident, students mobilised on social media and staged protests outside different colleges in the city today. During one of the protests, clashes broke out between the protesters and the security team of a college. Later on, the students also clashed with the police, with both clashes resulting in casualties.

According to a statement issued by Rescue 1122, a clash broke out between security personnel and students at the Hafeez Centre Punjab College Campus.

“Twenty-seven people were injured during the clash and rescue personnel provided first aid to them,” the statement said. “One student was seriously injured and was transferred to the Services Hospital Lahore.”

Rights group Aurat March criticised the actions of the authorities and questioned the silence of Punjab’s officials.

“How long until members of the Punjab Government take action against this atrocity? We demand answers from the government officials,” it said.

report released by the Sustainable Social Development Organisation revealed that throughout the year, up to 10,201 cases of violence against women were registered under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

This was a 14.5 per cent increase from the 8,787 cases reported in 2022.

Lahore saw 1,464 cases, followed by Sheikhupura 1,198 and Kasur 877 cases. The report stated that on average, 28 women faced some form of violence every day in Punjab in 2023.

A total of 6,624 rape cases were registered in 2023, meaning that one woman was raped every 45 minutes, the report said. Faisalabad topped the list with 728 cases, followed by Lahore (721) and Sargodha (398).

Up to 626 women were kidnapped, 120 were killed in the name of honour, and 20 were trafficked in 2023. Lahore, Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan were among the hot spot districts for these crimes.

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