LPU violence: 9 held as questions mount over viral rape claim and police action

• Punjab Police arrest nine, including seven LPU students, over last week’s campus violence and highway blockade.

• Unverified rape claim that triggered the protests remains under investigation, despite LPU denying that any such incident occurred.

• High court seeks answers from Punjab government and police as questions grow over the protest crackdown and origins of the social-media claim.

Punjab Police on Friday, 2 October said they had arrested nine people, including seven students, in connection with the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, even as questions remain over the events that triggered the unrest and the police response to the protests.

The arrests followed days of turmoil at the university after an unverified social-media claim that a female student had been raped in a hostel triggered protests, a prolonged highway blockade and extensive damage to campus property.

Police subsequently registered a rape case against an unidentified person and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegation. The university, however, has described the claim as false and baseless. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has since sought a comprehensive status report from the state government and police, including clarification on whether the alleged assault actually occurred and efforts to trace the social-media post that triggered the unrest.

DIG Jalandhar Range Naveen Singla said two FIRs had been registered in connection with arson, looting, rioting, damage to infrastructure, the torching of police vehicles, attacks on police personnel and the blockade of the national highway.

"Based on CCTV footage, technical analysis, media posts, social media posts and other corroborative evidence, we have carried out nine arrests so far," Singla told reporters.

One of those arrested is a juvenile. Four people were arrested in Phagwara, two in Jammu and Kashmir and two in Mumbai, while another was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, according to the police. Seven of those arrested are LPU students and two are outsiders, Singla said.

Police have nominated 20 people in the cases and are looking for the others.

Among those named is student and social-media influencer Mohammad Farhat. Singla said police had identified him from social-media posts allegedly showing him damaging property and that he would be arrested and questioned. Farhat has denied involvement in the violence.

What triggered the protests?

According to Singla, the unrest began on the evening of 26 September after a social-media post claimed that a girl had been raped in one of the university’s hostels and that no action had been taken.

Students gathered during the night, blocked the national highway and vandalised property, the DIG said. Police subsequently registered a rape case against an unidentified person after students demanded that an FIR be filed.

Singla said the alleged victim was also unidentified at the time, with nobody providing police with her name or other details. An SIT was subsequently constituted to investigate.

The university has maintained that no such incident took place and has called the allegation "false, baseless and fabricated". The police investigation, however, is continuing.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has now sought answers on the allegation and the origins of the social-media claim, adding another layer of scrutiny to an episode that has so far produced sharply conflicting accounts.

Dispute over police action

The police account of how the protests were handled has also come under scrutiny.

Singla said Friday that police had exercised restraint and that "no force was used against students" when officers first reached the campus.

However, multiple reports from Sunday, when the protests turned violent, recorded police using batons to disperse protesters. Videos from the confrontation also showed police personnel lathi-charging protesters.

The distinction is significant because the violence escalated after several days of protests, with students accusing the university of failing to adequately address their concerns and demanding transparency over the alleged incident.

The violence itself was extensive. Protesters blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway, while university infrastructure, shops and vehicles were damaged. Police vehicles were set on fire and several police personnel were injured.

LPU subsequently suspended classes for 10 days and postponed mid-term examinations, while large numbers of students left the campus.

There is also disagreement over who was responsible for some of the worst damage. Police are examining CCTV footage and digital evidence to identify those involved, while some students have alleged that outsiders were responsible for at least part of the vandalism and looting.

A student has separately approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a CBI probe into the violence.

A second university, a similar rumour

The LPU unrest also came against the backdrop of a separate episode at Chitkara University in Patiala district, where an unverified social-media claim that two female students had died by suicide triggered a protest and damage to a police vehicle.

Police have said no such incident took place and have arrested two people — Himanshu of Nangal and Aryan of Ambala — for allegedly spreading the rumours. Ten others have been nominated, according to Banur DSP Sukhdev Singh.

The two incidents have raised concerns over how unverified claims involving female students are spreading online and rapidly translating into campus protests and confrontations with police.

In the LPU case, however, the central allegation that initially brought students onto the streets remains under investigation. While the university has rejected it outright, police registered a rape case after the students’ demand and the high court has sought a detailed account of what happened.

With PTI inputs