Phagwara: Students of Lovely Professional University in Punjab's Phagwara went on a rampage on the campus early Sunday, damaging property and blocking a national highway over claims that an outsider raped a female student on the university premises.
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 “rumour”.
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.
In Phagwara, dramatic scenes unfolded at the varsity where 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 also blocked a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 outside the campus, leading to a massive traffic jam.
The protest began near a girls' hostel 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.
Police have booked an unknown person for rape following a complaint by the students and formed the SIT to probe the claims.
The management of Lovely Professional University (LPU), 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, Girls’ Hostel-3, 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 continued into Sunday afternoon.
Long queues of vehicles were seen on the national highway, with many stranded commuters arguing with the protesters, some even requesting them to lift the blockade so that they could pass.
The road blockade began at around 8 am.
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.
They also demanded that the University Management System, which grants them access to all varsity activities, is not blocked, and that they are not victimised for the protest.
Following reports of the rampage, a heavy police force was mobilised from Kapurthala, Jalandhar Rural and Hoshiarpur.
The students have claimed that the girl, who was staying in Hostel No. 3, returned to her house after no action was taken in the matter, DIG (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla, who reached the spot, said.
“An FIR has been registered based on the students' statement. A special investigation team (SIT) has also been formed, and a probe will be conducted along with the students' representatives,” the DIG said.
The students also have some other demands for which a meeting has been scheduled with the LPU management, Singla said.
“We will analyse forensic samples, CCTV camera footage, call records, etc., before reaching a conclusion,” the officer said.
Replying to a question, the DIG said the girl students are demanding that the entire hostel staff should comprise only women.
“The management will address these demands,” he said.
To another question, the DIG said a girl student from Telangana studying at LPU died by suicide 15 days ago.
“If the students say that there was foul play, action will be taken,” he said.
Asked about the students' claim of rape, LPU VC Jaspal Singh said the university doesn’t know about any such incident, adding that the authorities will cooperate in the probe.
Earlier, Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora said, “We spoke to the students who had some issues with the LPU administration. Efforts are underway to get them resolved. The situation is completely under control.”
LPU authorities claimed that certain anti-social elements were creating unnecessary confusion among the students to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the university.
In the statement, the university said it appears to be a “deliberate and concerted attempt to malign the reputation of the university and tarnish its image”.
“Students, parents and members of the public are requested not to believe, circulate or amplify such rumours; they should rely upon information communicated through official channels of the university,” it said.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
