Students vandalise Punjab university over woman being 'gangraped'; cops deny

Tension gripped Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab late on Saturday after students vandalised university property and set parts of the building on fire following unverified claims that a female student was allegedly gangraped or had died by suicide. Police refuted the claims, saying they appeared to have stemmed from a misunderstanding between the students and the university administration.

Around 2,000 students gathered near the girls' hostel to protest after rumours about the alleged incident appeared on social media posts and spread on the campus in Phagwara. The protest later escalated, with students blocking a highway and bringing traffic to a halt before going on a rampage inside the university. They smashed window panes, threw bricks and flower pots and set parts of university buildings on fire.

Some social media posts also accused a worker of involvement in the purported incident.

Police later reached the spot and cleared the highway, which has since been reopened. The situation was brought under control while talks are underway between the students and the university administration, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kapurthala Gaurav Toora said.

Police said they had found no evidence to substantiate the allegations of gang-rape or suicide and had received no complaint in connection with them. The university administration is yet to react to the allegations.

“Some students claimed a girl student died by suicide, while some claimed that the student was raped. This has led to unrest among students against the LPU administration. So far, we have found no substantiating evidence to corroborate the incident, and no complaint has been received by us,” SSP Toora said.

He said the protest had resulted in extensive damage to university property. “The students have caused heavy damage to university property, which includes rioting and vandalism. They laid siege to the National Highway,” the SSP said.

Police and university authorities are continuing efforts to resolve the matter and defuse tensions on the LPU campus.- 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.