A first-year student of the Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (QUEST) Shaheed Benazirabad, was found dead in a banana field on Sunday after going missing while returning from the university, triggering protests by fellow students and renewed questions over campus security.
The deceased was identified as Aqib Ali Almani, a resident of Naushehro Feroze district and a student of the Data Sciences programme. Police recovered his body from a banana field near the Nawabshah-Sakrand Road and shifted it to Peoples Medical University Hospital for a postmortem examination before handing it over to his family.
The circumstances surrounding Almani’s disappearance and death remain unclear. Police have not yet established a motive for the killing and said an investigation was under way.
Almani’s uncle, Zulfiqar Almani, alleged that the student had suffered severe torture before his death. The allegation has not yet been independently established, while investigators are expected to determine the cause and circumstances of death through the postmortem and other evidence.
The discovery of the student’s body prompted a protest at QUEST, with students demanding answers over the circumstances of his disappearance and raising concerns about the safety of students living on campus. Protesters alleged that Almani had been abducted from the university hostel, a claim that remains subject to investigation.
The case has brought particular attention to QUEST’s hostel security arrangements. According to the university, its residential facilities operate a 24-hour high-alert security system, with entry checkpoints, visitor records, CCTV coverage in several blocks and biometric entry systems being introduced. The university says it operates 13 hostels, including 10 for male students and three for female students.
QUEST had also announced hostel allotments for its 2026 batch earlier this month, with students allowed to take possession of their rooms from September 5. The university’s academic calendar shows that classes for the new batch began on September 7.
The latest incident has therefore placed student safety and the effectiveness of existing hostel security measures under renewed scrutiny. The central questions for investigators include where and when Almani disappeared, whether he left or was taken from the university premises, and how he reached the location where his body was found.
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Police have yet to announce any arrests or identify suspects in the case. The investigation is continuing.
