Videos purportedly showing people looting shops and vandalising property at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, Punjab, during Sunday's violent protests have gone viral on social media.
The video, which have not been independently verified, appear to show people entering shops at the campus' Uni Mall and taking food, gadgets and other items. In one video, a voice can be heard saying, “free mein shopping, shopping done”, while people move around inside a store. Another clip shows a person pointing towards items and saying they could get “everything for you in free.”
Other videos show people eating food inside the mall, while footage from the campus also captures damaged shops, property and an ATM kiosk.
It remains unclear whether everyone seen in the videos was an LPU student. Reports have also indicated that some people had their faces covered, while some students alleged that outsiders may have been involved in the vandalism and looting.
Protest Over Alleged Sexual Assault Turns Violent
The videos surfaced after a protest erupted at the LPU campus on Sunday following claims on social media that a female student had allegedly been sexual assault inside a hostel.
Students had gathered outside Girls' Hostel-3 and raised concerns over the alleged incident and the university administration's response. Police registered an FIR against unknown persons and formed a Special Investigation Team to establish the facts. Authorities have not confirmed the alleged sexual assault, and the investigation remains underway.
LPU, meanwhile, rejected the allegations as “false, baseless and fabricated rumours”. The university released a video featuring three students from the room at the centre of the allegations, in which they said no such incident had occurred there.
However, the controversy around that video grew after the students later alleged that they had been instructed about what to say and that parts of their statements were edited before the video was published without their consent.
'Real Tragedy' Gets Lost Amid Looting, Vandalism
Amid the conflicting claims, the focus of the controversy has increasingly shifted towards the violence that followed the protest.
Footage from the campus shows extensive property damage, while reports said protesters damaged administrative buildings and the Uni Mall, took away gadgets and set vehicles and other objects on fire. Some protesters also climbed onto a decommissioned MiG-23 aircraft and a military tank installed on the campus.
The Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway was also blocked for several hours, triggering major traffic disruption. The standoff later escalated, with police resorting to a lathicharge after protesters refused to clear the blockade. Police said protesters pelted stones, while several police personnel and students were injured.
The scenes have triggered a separate debate online, with social media users arguing that the alleged sexual-assault complaint and the demand for a proper investigation risk being overshadowed by the vandalism, arson and alleged looting that followed.
Police Probe Continues As LPU Suspends Classes
Authorities have intensified security at the university, with more than 2,000 police personnel reportedly deployed on campus after the violence. Officials said the situation had been brought under control.
LPU has suspended regular classes for 10 days from September 28 and postponed its mid-term examinations until further notice. Students have also been advised to remain inside their hostels or places of residence and avoid involvement in any unrest.
The original allegation remains under investigation, while police and authorities are also examining the violence, property damage and alleged looting during the protests.
The viral videos have therefore opened up another troubling chapter in the LPU unrest raising questions over how a protest demanding answers over an alleged assault escalated into scenes of vandalism, arson and people allegedly helping themselves to goods inside campus shops.
