Phagwara: The campus of Lovely Professional University (LPU) located in Phagwara, Punjab looked like a battlefield on Sunday. The allegation of alleged rape of a student created such an uproar among the students that vandalism, arson and stone pelting started. The situation became so bad that National Highway-44 was also badly affected and a large number of police forces had to be deployed on the campus.
According to the police, the protesting students had been blocking NH-44 since 8 in the morning. When the police tried to remove them on Sunday evening, some students threw water bottles at the policemen. There was a clash between the two sides and the police resorted to lathi charge, after which the students ran away inside the campus. Officials say that after reaching the campus, the students started indiscriminately pelting stones at the police. During this, many policemen were injured and two police vehicles were set on fire. Jalandhar Rural SSP Harvinder Singh Virk said that four to five police vehicles were damaged in the violence. On the spot, journalists and policemen were seen running here and there to escape. Additional forces were called to handle the situation.
students on planes and tanks
Many dramatic scenes also emerged in this day-long uproar. One student climbed onto a decommissioned MiG-23UM aircraft kept on the campus, while some others climbed onto an Army tank. In videos viral on social media, students were seen raising slogans, breaking window panes and pots and setting some items on fire. The incident follows a massive protest a day earlier at Patiala's Chitkara University, where students set a police vehicle on fire over claims of alleged suicide of two girl students.
Why did the students get angry?
Students claim that three days ago, a student living in Girls Hostel No. 3 was raped by a plumber inside the campus. The protesters allege that this information was given to the hostel warden, but no action was taken, and the victim returned to her home. Angered by this negligence, the students started protesting.
Police claim: Situation under control
After the violence, a heavy police force led by ADGP reached the campus. Jalandhar Police Commissioner Satinder Singh, DIG Naveen Singla and Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Tura were also present on the spot. ADGP Faiyaz Farooqui said that more than 2,000 soldiers have been deployed for security throughout the night. He appealed to the families of the girl students living in the hostels not to worry and said that all the girl students are safe and there is peace in the campus.
Police Commissioner Satinder Singh termed the reports of disturbances in hostels as mere rumours. According to him, all the hostels have been inspected, traffic has resumed on the highway and the remaining issues will be resolved through talks with the students.
FIR registered, SIT will investigate
On the complaint of the students, the police have registered a case of rape against an unknown person. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed for the investigation, in which representatives of the students will also be included. According to the DIG, a conclusion will be reached only after analyzing forensic samples, CCTV footage and call records. The demand of the students is that the entire staff of the hostel should be of women only, on which the management has been asked to pay attention.
University side
The university administration has clearly denied the incident of rape on the campus. Vice Chancellor Jaspal Singh said that the university is not aware of any such incident, yet the administration will fully cooperate in the investigation. The administration alleges that some anti-social elements are making a systematic attempt to tarnish the image of the university by spreading confusion among the students. It has appealed to the students and parents not to believe the rumors and only follow the official information.
Classes closed for ten days
In view of the uproar, the university has suspended classes for 10 days from Monday. Mid semester examinations have also been postponed indefinitely until further orders.