Avicenna Medical College comes under fire after mysterious death of student

LAHORE: Students raised questions after the mysterious death of a student Mahnoor, at Avicenna Medical College in Lahore, DHA.

According to a social media post, a fourth-year student named Mahnoor passed away, initially reported as due to heart failure, but students claim it was suicide. Allegations include the denial of medical leave to Mahnoor.

While a large number of students joined protests on college campuses, thousands of tweets were shared online by medical aspirants, doctors, journalists, and rights activists.

It started with the death of student Mahnoor Nadeem, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances, and was followed by horror stories from colleagues. As some raised their voices against the mistreatment of students at Avicenna Medical College, others pointed directly at Abdul Waheed Shaikh, the chairman of the medical college.

Afraid, the students demanded action against Mr. Sheikh and his daughters, who hold administrative positions and are allegedly involved in misbehaving with students.

Students at Avicenna Medical College lamented the severe abuse and mistreatment they were facing, with some being slapped with heavy fines and not being allowed leave even in emergencies.

The posts shared online specifically mentioned a student named Mahnoor Nadeem, who died of a heart attack. He was reportedly denied leave because of the weather. Fellow students revealed that they faced stress, including sitting on the floor and heavy fines of around Rs 1 lack.

Students shared the ordeal in heartbreaking posts, with Abdul Waheed Shaikh saying the students were recorded using abuse, and there were reports of physical abuse, including the tearing of a student’s shirt.

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A professor was also accused of sexual harassment but is still teaching at the college. It further stated that the social media handles of the students are being monitored to silence the opposition.

Amid the protests and social media outrage, neither the PMDC nor the provincial administration has shared any updates on the matter.