LPU has suspended classes for 10 days and postponed mid-term examinations following violent student protests over an alleged rape involving a female hostel resident.
Police registered an FIR against an unknown person and formed an SIT, while investigating the allegation through CCTV footage, forensic evidence and phone data; the university has denied the rape claim and called it a rumour.
The protest turned violent, with students allegedly pelting stones at police, damaging vehicles and blocking NH-44, while police used a lathi charge and additional forces were deployed to bring the situation under control.
Students of Lovely Professional University in Punjab's Phagwara went on a rampage on the campus on Sunday, vandalising property and blocking a national highway over claims that an outsider raped a female student on the university premises. Fresh violence erupted on Sunday evening after the protesting students pelted stones at police personnel and attacked their vehicles, leaving several cops injured, officials told PTI.
A large force led by ADGP M F Farooqui later entered the LPU campus, with police saying the situation has been brought under control now.
Why Has LPU Suspended Classes?
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Satinder Singh, DIG (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla and Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora accompanied the team, which went around the campus.
"The situation has been brought under control. Traffic movement on NH-44 will be restored soon," Singla told PTI.
In the evening, police were trying to evict the protesters blocking NH-44 outside the campus since 8 am, when some students threw water bottles at them. They also clashed with police, who resorted to lathi charge, prompting the students to run towards the campus.
However, once inside, the students started to indiscriminately pelt stones at the police, the officials added.
What Did Police Say About The Alleged Rape?
Two police vehicles were also set on fire, while journalists and cops were seen running for cover, they said.
Jalandhar Rural SSP Harvinder Singh Virk said four to five police vehicles were damaged in the violence.
Additional force has been requisitioned to bring the situation under control, police said.
In view of the unrest, Lovely Professional University (LPU) authorities have suspended classes for 10 days starting Monday, while midterm examinations have been postponed until further notice.
Police said a rape case has been registered against an unknown person on a complaint by the students, and an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter, even though the university authority denied claims of any rape incident on campus, calling them “rumours”.
The incident followed a day after a huge protest by students of Chitkara University in Patiala, who allegedly set a police vehicle afire over unverified claims that two female students committed suicide on the campus.
At LPU, dramatic scenes unfolded throughout the day, as a student climbed atop a decommissioned MiG-23UM aircraft installed on campus, while a few others mounted a military tank.
Viral videos on social media also showed the protesting students purportedly damaging window panes and flower pots on campus, even putting some objects on fire, with cries of “we want justice” echoing in the background.
The protesters blocked a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 outside the campus, leading to a massive traffic jam, and clashes with police in the evening.
The protest began near Girls' Hostel-3 on the campus around 1 am on Sunday, after some students alleged that a female student staying there was raped by a plumber three days back.
They also claimed that the hostel warden was informed about the incident, but no action was taken.
The LPU management, however, maintained in a statement that there was no truth in the “rumours”, with Registrar Monica Gulati saying some anti-social elements were spreading “false, baseless and fabricated” allegations.
The LPU also released a video statement of three female students of Room No. 504 of the hostel, claiming that no rape incident took place, saying they have been staying there for the past two months.
In the videos doing the rounds, some purported protesters with their faces covered with handkerchiefs were seen vandalising shops in the university mall and other properties on campus, while a few others could be seen taking some items from a grocery shop. The videos also showed damaged vehicles and a vandalised ATM kiosk on the campus.
Traffic was diverted from the Phagwara highway stretch to the Phagwara-Jandiala road for the Jalandhar side and via arterial roads as the blockade on NH-44 continued into Sunday evening.
Long queues of vehicles were seen on the national highway, with many stranded commuters arguing with the protesters, some requesting them to lift the blockade so that they could pass.
Several rounds of talks between the protesting students and the LPU management remained inconclusive, even though LPU Vice Chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu assured the protesters that their genuine grievances would be resolved.
The protesters insisted that LPU Founder-Chancellor Ashok Mittal, who is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, come to the protest site and assure them to resolve their issues.
