Students protesting outside LPU clash with Punjab Police, set vehicles on fire

The latest violence followed unrest on Saturday night, when rumours of an alleged gang rape and a student's death by suicide drew a large crowd near the university's girls' hostel.

In Short

• Police vehicles damaged; some set on fire
• Police injured; extent of damage unclear
• Protest sparked by gang rape rumours

The protest outside Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara turned violent again on Sunday, with students clashing with police and setting at least three police vehicles on fire.

The clashes followed a night of unrest on campus over an alleged sexual assault. Police have since registered a rape case on a female student’s complaint and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), but say they have found no evidence so far to confirm that the alleged assault took place. LPU has denied the allegation.

A senior police official said police personnel were injured and vehicles damaged. The number of injured personnel was not immediately known.

TALKS FAIL TO END PROTEST

Earlier on Sunday, police met student representatives and the LPU management on a highway near the campus. Officers shared a copy of the FIR and details of the SIT with the representatives.

Students continued to demand an assurance from LPU Chancellor and founder Rashmi Mittal. Their representatives returned to the university to raise the demand with the management, but the protest continued and clashes with police followed.

Authorities were working to remove buses and trucks from the highway and restore traffic.

FIR REGISTERED, SIT FORMED

The FIR was registered at Satnampura police station under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with rape. According to the complaint, another student was allegedly raped around September 23–24 in the GH3 girls’ hostel.

The SIT, headed by Phagwara SP Major Singh, includes DSP Palwinder Singh and a woman police inspector.

Police plan to examine CCTV footage, phone records, forensic material and other technical evidence, while keeping student representatives informed.

Police have not identified the alleged victim or an accused, and no arrest has been announced.

HOW THE UNREST BEGAN

Around 2,000 students gathered near the girls’ hostel late on Saturday after claims about a female student spread on social media and across the campus. The protest spilled onto a highway, bringing traffic to a halt. Some protesters smashed windows, threw bricks and flower pots, and set parts of university buildings on fire.

Before Sunday’s FIR was filed, Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora had said police had received no rape complaint. Toora and Jalandhar Range DIG Naveen Singla have since said the allegation remains unsubstantiated as the investigation continues.

Police are separately checking a video circulated amid claims that a woman had died by suicide. Toora said the footage appeared to be older and that police had found nothing linking the reported death to the rape allegation.

LPU DENIES ALLEGATION

LPU Dean Sorabh Lakhanpal said the university had taken students’ concerns seriously but had received no concrete information identifying the student said to be involved. He said students had been shown CCTV footage and allowed to see the hostel room they had asked about.

“We are realising that this entire situation is fuelled by rumours,” Lakhanpal said. He also alleged that outsiders had taken part in the vandalism.

LPU Registrar Dr Monica Gulati called the allegations circulating online “false, baseless and fabricated”. The university has issued a video reiterating its position that no assault took place. Police are investigating the complaint.

- Ends