On the morning of 27 September, Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara was rocked by violent protests after a rumour alleging that a female student had been raped on campus spread rapidly on social media platforms.
The university, one of India’s largest private seats of higher education, has denied the allegation even as say they have registered a case and are trying to verify whether or not last week’s alleged assault happened.
As things stand, no student has so far come forward to lodge a formal complaint about the incident. Police have not identified the alleged victim or the perpetrator, and there is no evidence in the CCTV footage either.
Rumours on student WhatsApp groups led to unrest on campus, which began on 27 September morning and continued for several hours until midnight at the sprawling 600-acre university that draws students in thousands from India and abroad.
For now, the classes have been suspended. Most of the hoteliers have left the campus, and investigations are underway to find those responsible for the rumours and the violence thereafter.
Ashok Mittal, the founder-chairman of LPU says the rumours were ‘100 crore per cent false’ and the whole incident – from provoking social media messages and violence – was part of a larger conspiracy hatched by malicious elements to spread anarchy and destabilise Punjab.
“It all started with a Reddit post which suddenly spread like fire on WhatsApp and other social media channels. The students were provoked and instigated by outsiders who wanted to destalise the campus and bring a bad name,” Mittal told LiveMint in an exclusive interview at his 5 Firozshah Road residence in New Delhi.
“For now what has been established is that no such incident has taken place. And we know similar rumours regarding girl students came from Chitkara University in Rajpura just 24 hours prior to the events at LPU. This is clearly a design to malign Punjab,” he says.
Founded in 2005 by a family whose business began with a small sweet shop, LPU has over 40,000 students, including 28,000 hostelers enrolled today, according to Mittal.
In July this year, Ashok Mittal severed ties with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the BJP, alongside three of his colleagues: Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, and . Months before the switch, the Enforcement Directorate raided premises linked to Mittal, including Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, as part of a into overseas financial transactions.
The violence on campus began in the early hours of 27 September, when word spread that a female student had been raped near one of the university’s hostels a few days earlier.
The suspect was described by some students as a plumber, painter or construction worker. Some students said the assault had occurred on 23 September and blamed the university for not acting on it.
The agitating students gathered in large numbers to demand accountability, security overhauls, and action from university authorities.
Images and videos from Sunday’s violence showed vehicles in flames and police wielding canes as unrest spilt beyond the university gates with crowds filling the .
The masked protestors damaged police vehicles and vandalised parts of the campus. To control the situation, physical classes have been suspended for ten days, exams Postponed and internet access around the campus radius was also cut temporarily on Sunday night.
Viral videos showed people carrying away . The PS5 Slim Disc Edition typically costs around ₹55,000. Even customers’ phones left for repair allegedly got stolen.
“Things are completely under control now. Some students have left. Physical Classes are suspended, but online classes are on,” Mittal said.
The Kapurthala police had registered a rape case under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against unidentified person after the unrest
Mittal said what disappointed him most was that national security symbols, such as the MiG-23 fighter jet gifted by the Indian Air Force and installed as a memorial near the university’s main gate, were also attacked.
“Efforts are being made to drive a wedge between the Hindu and Sikh communities in Punjab. There is an attempt to spread anarchy across the state. There is a MiG-23—gifted to me by the at the main gate as a memorial. You may have seen videos where people climb onto it and dance. This is an attempt to demoralize our armed forces,” said the founder of Lovely Professional University.
The BJP MP says that police are trying to trace the origin of the viral posts. When asked if it was a political conspiracy, Mittal says he won’t use that word even as Punjab is going to assembly polls next year, along with .
“My businessman friends told me they are thinking of leaving Punjab. Those who want to invest are rethinking their plans. LPU violence is one of the series of incidents that have led to the situation. First it was drugs, then came the gangsters and now it is law and order. It is damaging not just LPU but the whole Punjab,” he said.
Amid that confusion, the university attempted to dispel the rape allegation. On Monday, LPU released a video of three women living in the hostel room linked to the alleged incident. The students said nothing had happened there and asked people to stop disturbing them.
The same students later alleged in another video that university officials had instructed them on what to say, edited the recording and posted it without their consent. LiveMint has not been able to independently verify those claims. Neither have the University authorities commented on the students’ allegations.
“I am glad to see across all political sections, be it the ruling AAP or the opposition, everyone condemned the incident and said that LPU is not responsible for this. My message for students is is with you. Their genuine demands were addressed earlier too and will be addressed in future too,” Mittal said.
