JALANDHAR: Violent protests erupted at the Lovely Professional University campus in Phagwara on Saturday night following rumours of the rape and suicide of a female student at a hostel — the pattern uncanny similar to protests that rocked Chitkara University a day earlier though police deny any linkage.Protesters alleged that a student died by suicide after being raped by a varsity worker in a room in girls’ hostel No. 3 on Sept 23, and that university authorities suppressed it. LPU authorities have rejected the “false and fabricated rumours” and blamed anti-social elements for the mischief.Jalandhar Range DIG Naveen Singla said police have registered an FIR on a statement from the protesting students and set up an SIT. No one is named in the FIR and police are scanning CCTV footage of the hostel.Protests subsided for a while on Sunday but flared up again in the evening, with vehicles being torched and wrecked on the highway, leading to a police lathicharge. The protest was raging at the time this report was filed. The blockade has thrown traffic to parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir out of gear.According to sources, messages of the ‘rape and suicide’ began circulating on Saturday night and boarders started gathering outside a girls’ hostel. Police said students living in rented accommodations outside the campus soon joined them. As the numbers swelled, the protestors turned violent.They went on the rampage, targeting the administrative buildings and damaging the campus mall. Protesters took away laptops and other gadgets, set fire to motorcycles, and began posting videos of the arson on social media.Then, around 2 am, hundreds of them blocked the National Highway stretch between Jalandhar and Phagwara. As flames rose in the background, protesters climbed atop a MiG-23 and a tank donated to the university by the military.Police managed to persuade the students to lift the blockade early in the morning, but they again blocked it.As police officers negotiated with the students, some of them told DIG Singla about the alleged suicide of a female student from Telangana around a fortnight back. Singla said the parents of the student had come to LPU and police had sent her mobile phone for forensic examination. Further action would be based on the findings of the lab report, he said.After students refused to lift the blockade, police resorted to lathicharge around 8 pm and students retaliated by stone-pelting. Both cops and some students sustained injuries. DIG Singla’s vehicle was damaged along with a few other vehicles, including a journalist’s car. At least one vehicle was torched. Some of those indulging in violence had covered their faces.Several students alleged that it was outsiders who indulged in loot, arson and vandalism. Some masked men were captured in videos during the protest.“Police officers tried a lot to persuade students to lift the blockade and apprised them about the investigation but they refused to relent. Force was used in a restrained way to clear the NH,” special DGP (law and order) Parveen Sinha said.Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora said the pattern matched the trouble at Chitkara University, as trouble at LPU also started with hearsay of the rape of a student, but nobody knew about her or the accused. Special DGP Sinha said that so far there did not appear to be any linkages between the protests at Chitkara University and LPU.On Sunday afternoon, LPU put out a video statement by three students who live in the hostel room mentioned by protesters. They said that no such incident took place in their room, and that they felt harassed by the repeated queries by police.The university issued a statement denying the allegations. “It has come to our notice that certain anti-social elements are spreading completely false, baseless and fabricated rumours through social media and other channels, thereby creating unnecessary confusion among students and attempting to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the university,” said LPU registrar Monica Gulati on Sunday morning.“The manner in which such false and misleading information is being systematically circulated appears to be a deliberate and concerted attempt to malign the reputation of the university and tarnish its image. The University categorically clarifies that there is no truth in the rumours presently being circulated. 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 only,” Gulati said.LPU vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu said that they were open to the probe and would provide all necessary support to the investigators. “There is nothing to hide and such matters can’t be concealed,” he said.Classes suspended for 10 days, exams put offLovely Professional University (LPU) Sunday night announced the suspension of regular classes for 10 days and postponement of mid-term examinations until further notice. It advised students to go back to their hometowns during this period. “Students who stay back are advised to stay inside their hostels and avoid unnecessary movement…” LPU said
