LPU on boil: Students clash with police, torch vehicles over campus ‘rape’ row

• LPU students clash with police in Phagwara over unverified rape-suicide allegations, with three police SUVs set ablaze and campus property damaged

• Police file rape FIR and form SIT to verify the allegations, while students accuse university authorities of suppressing information

• Violence follows similar unrest at Chitkara University, highlighting how unverified social media claims can trigger campus protests and clashes

Violence erupted again at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara on Sunday evening as protesting students clashed with police, with multiple police vehicles set ablaze amid stone-pelting and arson.

The unrest followed protests over unverified social media reports alleging that a female student had been raped on the university campus and later died by suicide. At least three police SUVs were reportedly set on fire, while several police personnel were injured. Police used a lathi charge to disperse the protesters after stones and other objects were allegedly hurled at them.

The protests had earlier led to extensive damage to university property, including broken window panes and vandalised infrastructure, with parts of the campus reportedly set on fire. Students also blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway, disrupting traffic.

Police initially said they had received no complaint or evidence substantiating the alleged rape. However, an FIR was later registered against an unidentified person on rape charges based on statements given by students. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been constituted to verify the allegations and establish the facts.

Kapurthala senior superintendent of police Gaurav Toora said the situation escalated after students allegedly pelted stones at police personnel and set a police vehicle on fire. He said authorities had sought to maintain transparency in the investigation and had shared relevant material, including CCTV footage, with students.

Students protesting on the campus alleged that a sexual assault had occurred and accused university authorities of refusing to acknowledge it. They also alleged that outsiders were involved in the vandalism.

The university has appealed to students and others not to circulate or amplify what it described as unverified information.

The incident has prompted a heavy police deployment around the campus, with authorities investigating both the sexual assault allegations and the subsequent violence, including arson, vandalism and attacks on police vehicles.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia condemned the alleged sexual assault and criticised the Punjab government over the handling of the situation. In a post on X, Majithia alleged that police inaction had contributed to the escalation and made an unsubstantiated political allegation that AAP leaders were seeking to target LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal, who he said had left the AAP and joined the BJP. These claims have not been independently established.

The LPU unrest came a day after protests at Chitkara University in Rajpura, Patiala district, where hundreds of students gathered following unverified social media reports that two female students were missing. The protest also escalated into clashes with police, with two police vehicles allegedly vandalised and university property damaged.

The two incidents have highlighted how unverified claims circulating on social media can rapidly trigger large student gatherings, campus disruption and confrontations with authorities. Officials at both universities are continuing to assess the situations and verify the claims circulating online.

With PTI inputs