Karachi court sends main suspect on three-day remand over alleged threats to KU professor

Konain, identified as the main suspect in the assault case, had previously secured pre-arrest bail. He was now facing allegations of threatening Saqi following the incident. Sachal police produced Konain before the court, where the investigating officer sought physical remand for interrogation.

Counsel for the complainant was also present. The complainant’s counsel alleged that the accused had threatened Saqi after securing interim bail and had misused the relief granted to him. “The accused’s other associates have to be arrested, and the mobile phone also has to be recovered,” the lawyer said.

He added that a weapon also had to be recovered from the accused in the main case. The defence opposed the request, arguing that the relevant sections of the law did not apply to the accused and that the case was false and baseless.

“My client belongs to a respectable family,” the defence lawyer said, requesting that Konain be discharged. The lawyer also questioned the police action, saying the complainant had not appeared before the court despite the case being high-profile.

He said police had arrived at the accused’s home at around 10:00pm in 10 to 15 vehicles and asked his family to hand him over. Read:KU Professor rejects olive branch“We already secured bail and that the investigating officer was not present, so we would hand him over when the investigating officer arrived,” the lawyer said.

The defence also denied that Konain had assaulted the complainant, saying a “hype” had been created on social media. “There is no video of the actual incident. The accused is being subjected to political victimisation,” the lawyer said.

He claimed that Konain’s family had also approached the complainant’s house to seek a compromise. The lawyer alleged that a fake video was being circulated without forensic examination, adding that while the incident was said to have taken place during the day, the video being circulated had been recorded at night.

The court questioned the basis on which the accused had been taken into custody. “The accused was taken into custody from his home. We have a video,” the lawyer said, before presenting the video in court.

The defence further argued that the investigating officer had neither produced the complainant nor presented any threatening message allegedly sent by the accused. “My number is written at the hotel counter, and anyone could misuse it,” the lawyer said.

Read more:Two more arrested over alleged assault of Karachi University professor. He maintained that the case had been registered under the Telegraph Act and reiterated that the allegations against his client were false. The court subsequently granted police a three-day physical remand of Konain for further investigation.

On Tuesday, the assault case was registered at Sachal Police Station on Dr Saqi’s complaint, with the restaurant owner’s son named as the main accused. Police hadarrested five suspectsin connection with the alleged assault, including security guards Gul Sher and Taj Muhammad and hotel employees Shaukat Ali, Imran Ali and Ghulam Umar.

Following the incident, the main accused’s father, restaurant owner Ali Gohar Shah, visited Dr Saqi’s residence andsought forgivenessand an out-of-court settlement. Saqi, however, refused to reconcile, saying he would not bury the matter until the main accused was arrested and the case proceeded through the courts.

Minor accident leads to assault. Theincidentoccurred near Sindh Green Restaurant around 10:15am when Dr Saqi, travelling to the university with his nephew and driver Muhammad Waheed, was allegedly involved in a dispute after a double-cabin vehicle reversing out of the restaurant struck the bonnet of their car.

's statement recorded with police and a video statement that surfaced after the incident, he stopped after the security guard signalled him to do so and asked the occupants of the double-cabin to compensate the young driver whose car had been damaged.

He alleged that the restaurant owner's son, identified in the FIR as a suspect named Konein, then emerged carrying a weapon and opened aerial fire before he and his guards began beating him and his nephew with pistol butts.

Dr Saqi alleged that two armed guards joined the assault, repeatedly striking the victims on their heads and chests with their weapons, while three to four other unidentified men also joined in. He and his nephew allegedly fell to the ground after sustaining injuries.

Also Read:Power play turns brutal as professor thrashed. The attackers then allegedly dragged the two men inside the Sindh Green Restaurant, where they were held against their will and subjected to further assault, 's statement.

Their mobile phones were also allegedly taken but were later returned. Dr Saqi said Malir Cantonment police personnel rescued them and took them to Sachal police station. The police registered FIR No 1412 of 2026 on the professor's complaint under Sections 147, 148, 149, 324 and 342 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant also alleged that the suspects took away their car after the assault. Sachal SHO Ejaz Pathan confirmed that the incident followed a dispute over a vehicle collision and said the professor was allegedly assaulted by the restaurant owner's son's guards during the altercation.

Meanwhile, the Association of Teachers of Karachi University strongly condemned the alleged assault and illegal confinement of Dr Saqi. Joint Secretary Dr Sheikh Muhammad Zeeshan Iqbal said the dignity, respect and protection of teachers must be guaranteed in any civilised society.

Read More:Karachi DHA assault video sparks social media outrage. He urged the authorities to take strict action against everyone involved, saying teachers were increasingly becoming a vulnerable segment of society. Taking notice of the incident, Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar contacted the SSP District East and sought a report on the incident and the legal action taken.

He said teachers were a respected segment of society and that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands or humiliate or mistreat a teacher. He directed that indiscriminate legal action be taken against those involved and assured that Sindh Police would provide every possible legal and security assistance to teachers.