India: LPU suspends classes after violent protests over alleged campus rape

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Punjab's Lovely Professional University (LPU) has suspended classes starting Monday and postponed mid-term examinations after a protest over an alleged rape turned violent on Sunday with protesters clashing with the police and vandalism being reported. 

The private university located in the city of Phagwara witnessed massive student unrest after claims spread on social media that a female university student was allegedly raped within the campus premises by an outsider and had later died by suicide. 

The protests grew to be violent when the protesters clashed with the police, pelted stones at the security personnel, smashed windows and set fire to some objects within the university complex, reports said.

Some students later claimed in social media posts that the vandals were not students, but outsiders. 

The university has suspended regular classes for 10 days, news agency ANI cited a statement from LPU as saying.

The statement said students could travel to their hometowns during the suspension of classes and advised those who stay back to remain in their hostels or places of accommodation and avoid any unnecessary movement. The statement also called on students to avoid involvement in the unrest. 

Over 2,000 police personnel were deployed to ensure security on the campus, reports quoted the Additional Director General of Police Fayaz Farooqui as saying. 

The protesters also blocked the national highway between  Jalandhar and Phagwara highway early Sunday, leading to traffic disruptions. 

On Monday, police said that the situation had been brought under control and traffic movement on the highway had been restored. 

Meanwhile, the police are yet to confirm whether a student was raped within LPU's campus. They have launched an investigation to examine the facts of the incident. 

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken note of the situation and has directed the Director General of Police to visit the campus, reports said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Punjab State Women Commision is seeking a detailed report on the alleged rape, ANi reported. 

The LPU has denied that the alleged rape took place, calling the claims "false, baseless and fabricated rumors".

The university on Sunday posted a video with three female students who it said reside in the girls' hostel room where the alleged incident is claimed to have taken place.

The video purportedly shows the girls denying that there had been a rape, with one of them asking the police to stop visiting the room repeatedly.

However, media reports on Monday said that the same girls later appear in a separate purported video, claiming that they were instructed on what to say in the statement. They then allegedly claim that their clips were "trimmed" and used without their consent. 

This is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW's studio in New Delhi, bringing you the Monday edition of our India blog — where we break down all the biggest headlines that have got the world's most populous nation talking.

Weather seems to be going through a changing mood in the northern, central and eastern parts of India. There is a nip in the air in the Indian capital and surrounding regions, heavy rains have led to a flood-like situation unfolding in the state of Chattisgarh, while lofty sections of the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are witnessing a snowfall. 

On the other hand, heat is on in the state of Punjab — quite literally —  after massive student unrest at a private university, over rumors of a rape on campus, saw protesters damaging property on the  university premises and torching some objects.

Meanwhile, India's top court has started a legal review of the recent rape cases in Delhi and the National Capital Region, drawing parallels to the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case that became a symbol of the country's battle against sexual violence, leading to sweeping legal reforms. 

The Supreme Court has now questioned if systemic law enforcement mechanisms have actually made any meaningful progress, nearly 14 years on.