The Lovely Professional University, situated in Phagwara of Punjab’s Kapurthala district, simmered over the weekend as students protested over allegations of a student being raped at the university premises and later dying by suicide.
Student protest turns violent: Students at the Lovely Professional University resorted to vandalism early Sunday to protest over unverified reports of a student being raped at the university premises, who later died by suicide. Instead, the cops were met with bottles hurled by the agitators, prompting them to resort to a mild lathi charge that further aggravated the situation, setting ablaze three SUVs, six motorbikes, and damaging police vehicles. Meanwhile, the blockade on the highway continued.
The complaint: According to a complaint by students, a construction worker sexually assaulted a female student in the university hostel. DIG Jalandhar Range Naveen Singla cited the claims made by students and said the incident happened three days ago, while the hostel warden allegedly forced the victim to leave for her home instead of informing the incident to the police, following which the student died by suicide at her home. The protests turned violent on Sunday, even as the university denied the reports of rape and suicide, and the Punjab police initiated an investigation. The protests, which began on Saturday, turned violent on Sunday after protestors pelted stones at police and attacked their vehicles, leaving several cops injured. Police use force: The situation went out of control on Sunday evening after talks between the protesting students and the administration failed, as the police kept on asking the students to clear the national highway.
LPU dismisses claims: However, there was no clarity regarding the victim’s identification.
The university, however, dismissed the rape-suicide claim and accused “anti-social elements” of “creating unnecessary confusion among students and attempting to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the University”.
Rape case registered: Following an overnight protest, which involved students ransacking the campus, setting parts of buildings on fire and blocking a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar national highway, police said a rape case has been registered against an unknown person, and a seven-member special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the matter
