Pakistani police fired tear gas and charged at student protesters who ransacked a college building Thursday, as anger spread over an alleged on-campus rape, prompting the government to shut schools, colleges and universities for two days.

Protests erupted in Lahore after reports spread online that a student was raped by a security guard at a Punjab College for Women campus. The incident was first shared on social media over the weekend. Varying accounts state that the rape took place on Thursday or Friday evening in a campus basement.

At least 250 violent protesters were arrested in Rawalpindi as police used tear gas to disperse students demonstrating against the alleged rape of a Lahore student.

More than two dozen students have been injured in clashes with Pakistani police over reports of an on-campus rape of a young woman.

LAHORE, Pakistan — Authorities in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province shut all schools and universities for two days on Friday in an attempt to contain the spread of protests by students over an alleged on-campus rape. The closures in Pakistan's most populous province affect an estimated 18 million students.

Pakistani police fired tear gas and charged student protesters who ransacked a college building Thursday, as anger spread over an alleged on-campus rape. Tensions have been high on college campuses since reports about the alleged rape in the eastern city of Lahore went viral on social media,