Students protesting outside LPU clash with Punjab Police, vehicles set on fire
A student protest outside Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara turned violent on Sunday as demonstrators clashed with police. Police vehicles were damaged, and there were reports that some had been set on fire.
Jalandhar SSP Harvinder Singh Virk said police personnel were injured in the clashes. “Police personnel have sustained injuries. Police vehicles have been damaged,” he said. The number of injured personnel and the extent of the damage are yet to be confirmed.
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. Police said they had received no complaint or evidence substantiating the rape claim. LPU called the allegations circulating online “false, baseless and fabricated”.TALKS FAIL TO END PROTEST
Earlier in the day, police spoke with student representatives and the LPU management on a highway near the campus. Punjab Police said an FIR had been registered and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed. Copies of the FIR and details of the SIT were shared with the representatives.
The talks did not settle the protest. Students continued to seek an assurance from LPU Chancellor and founder Rashmi Mittal, and their representatives went back inside the university to take up the demand with the management.
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. Students then damaged university property, smashing windows and throwing bricks and flower pots. Parts of buildings were set on fire.
Police cleared the highway and restored traffic. Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora said officers had found no evidence to support the claims that prompted the protest and had received no complaint of a gang rape.
Police referred to a woman’s death by suicide near the campus’s agriculture department, but said they had found nothing linking it to the rape allegation. Toora also said a video being circulated in connection with the unrest appeared to be an older one. Police are verifying the claims and the video.
In a statement, LPU Registrar Dr Monica Gulati said there was “no truth in the rumours presently being circulated”.
The university accused people it described as “anti-social elements” of spreading false information and urged students and parents to rely on official updates.- Ends
Kamaljit Sandhu is an award winning journalist working as Deputy Editor in India Today. She has nearly two decades of experience as a full time TV journalist. She covers "conflict" regions, Internal security matters, MEA and Parliament. Her work has often led to crisscrossing the country. She has also traveled to Pakistan and Iran, in pursuit of news stories. In 2019, she received the ENBA Award for best news programming for her ground report on "surviving Bastar" which was based on the government's policy on inducting tribals in Crpf in chattisgarh to counter naxals.
Personal interests: Kamaljit likes travelling, interior decoration and playing scrabble, Has varied interests in sporting activities like swimming, badminton and Yoga.
