Violent Protests took place in and around the Lovely Professional University campus, on the night of 27th September, after alleged inaction, delays and disruptions by the University administration and Punjab Police on the allegations of sexual assault on campus.
On 26th September, students reported an alleged sexual assault of a female student by a construction worker in campus premises. The protest had begun as a call for accountability and justice. The protest grew further after unverified rumours of the victim committing suicide were circulated.
The University Administration has categorically denied the allegations and maintained that the allegations were 'false, baseless and fabricated' and part of a conspiracy to tarnish the university's reputation. The university also subsequently released a video of students affirming this statement, but the students in the video subsequently claimed that "Our video has been trimmed and posted on Instagram. We had no idea about this, and no consent was taken from us."
DIG Naveen Singla during talks with five student representatives said, “We have registered an FIR and constituted an SIT. We will conduct the investigation, and if a culprit is identified, we will certainly apprehend. Our team is examining the CCTV footage, and if any leads emerge, we will certainly take action.” The police have registered an FIR against unknown personnel.
The Protest took a violent turn on the evening of 27th September after the main university gate was broken down. Witnesses alleged that several goons entered university premises and allegedly carried sharp weapons and hammers. University properties were vandalised and ransacked, and several vehicles were burned and destroyed during the violence. Students maintained that it was external elements who had ignited the violence and until their presence, the protest was peaceful.
The incident at LPU occurred a day after students at Patiala-based Chitkara University held a protest, alleging that two female students had died by suicide on the campus and their bodies were disposed of. However, In the initial investigation the police said the allegations were unfounded and no evidence regarding the same was discovered.
Les Comrades appeals to its readers to confirm and verify claims before circulating them.