Phagwara: Students of Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara went on a rampage on campus early Sunday, damaging property and blocking a national highway following allegations that ‘an outsider raped a female student’ on the university premises.
Police said a rape case has been registered against an unidentified person based on a complaint by students, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the matter. The university, however, denied the allegations of a rape on campus, calling them a “rumour”.
The incident followed a day af ter a huge protest by students of Chitkara University in Patiala, who allegedly set a police vehicle afire over unverified claims that two female students committed suicide on the campus. In Phagwara, dramatic scenes unfolded at the varsity where a student climbed atop a decommissioned MiG-23UM aircraft installed on campus, while a few others mounted a military tank.
Viral videos on social media also showed the protesting students purportedly damaging window panes and flower pots on campus, even putting some objects on fire, with cries of “we want justice” echoing in the background.
The protesters also blocked a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 outside the campus, leading to a massive traffic jam. The protest began near a girls’ hostel on the campus around 1 am Sunday, after some students alleged that a female student staying there was raped by a plumber three days back.
They also claimed that the hostel warden was informed about the incident, but no action was taken. Police have booked an unknown person for rape following a complaint by the students and formed the SIT to probe the claims.
The management of Lovely Professional University (LPU), however, maintained in a statement that there was no truth in the “rumours”, with Registrar Monica Gulati saying some anti-social elements were spreading “false”, “baseless” and “fabricated” allegations. The LPU also released a video statement of three female students of Room No. 504, Girls’ Hostel-3, claiming that no rape incident took place, saying they have been staying there for the past two months.
