Phagwara, Sept 28: A day after violent protests rocked the LPU campus in Kapurthala district’s Phagwara, the situation was peaceful on the campus, with many students heading home following suspension of classes for 10 days even as the Punjab DGP warned of action against vandals.
Traffic movement on National Highway-44, which had been blocked by the protesting students from the Lovely Professional University (LPU) for over 15 hours, was restored, police said.
A heavy police deployment remained at the university, located along the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway, as students carrying bags and suitcases were seen leaving the campus. Anxious parents also arrived to take their children home.
The campus bore signs of violence, with property damaged at several places, while many students blamed outsiders for the vandalism.
LPU students allegedly went on a rampage on the campus on Sunday, vandalising property and blocking a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside their campus over claims that an outsider had raped a female student on the university premises.
Another wave of violence erupted on Sunday evening after the protesting students allegedly pelted police personnel with stones and attacked their vehicles, leaving several cops injured on Sunday, officials said.
They also set some objects on fire, purported visuals of the protest showed.
At the instance of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, DGP Gaurav Yadav visited the LPU to take stock of the situation.
In a related development, the Punjab State Women Commission took suo motu cognisance of two protest incidents at Lovely Professional University and Chitkara University that were based on unverified claims about an alleged rape of a student by an outsider and two girl students’ suicide, respectively. The panel sought detailed reports, including copies of the FIRs and safety measures for students on the campuses from the respective district and police administrations.
Referring to the LPU protest, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu accused the AAP government in the state of sending miscreants to LPU ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally on September 30 in Jalandhar.
“After Sh. Ashok Mittal left AAP, the party allegedly hatched a sinister plan to force LPU to shut down,” Bittu alleged in a post on X late Sunday night.
Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal is the founder chancellor of LPU.
As LPU authorities suspended classes for 10 days starting Monday, many students left the campus for their homes in the morning. Midterm examinations have also been postponed until further notice.
A girl student from Punjab said at present, the situation is normal. All students are going back home and police have been deployed, she said.
She blamed outsiders for indulging in violence and damaging properties, claiming that the college students did not vandalise anything.
A student from Bihar said the situation was really bad on Sunday and termed it “scary”. Normalcy returned only after police came inside the campus, he said.
He also put the onus for violence on outsiders, asserting that students were holding a peaceful protest.
Another girl student repeated the claim about outsiders damaging properties on the campus.
During his visit to LPU, DGP Yadav asserted that vandals would face action, saying no one will be allowed to take law into their own hands.
Speaking to reporters, Yadav said police made efforts to get the students’ grievances, which they had against the private university’s administration, resolved by facilitating discussion with the authorities.
Referring to the violence on Sunday evening, Yadav called it unfortunate and said some elements tried to disturb atmosphere and pelted police vehicles with stones.
“Police used a lot of restraint. It was an effort of police (knowing) that students are like our children. And their grievances are resolved. Mostly, they relate to the university administration. Meetings were arranged,” he said.
Giving a message to those who indulged in vandalism, the DGP said they will face strict action as the CCTV footage is being analysed.
Referring to the students’ claim of the alleged rape incident, Yadav said an FIR has been registered and an SIT has been formed, which will carry out a detailed investigation of the matter. The university, however, has described the claims of the crime taking place on the campus as “rumours”. (PTI)
