Early Sunday morning things got really heated at Lovely Professional University in Phagwara. Students started gathering after some messages went viral on social media saying a girl on campus had been raped. No one had any solid proof, but the posts spread fast and people got angry.
By around 1:45 in the morning, police got the call that a big group of students was on the campus and blocking a road. When Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora and his team reached there, the situation had already gone further. Videos that started circulating showed students smashing window panes, throwing flower pots around, and even setting some things on fire. It didn’t stay inside the campus either. A bunch of them walked out and blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara national highway. Traffic just stopped for hours on that busy stretch.
Toora was pretty straightforward when he spoke later. He said when they arrived they realised it was all based on rumours. “When we reached here, we came to know that there were rumours. Because of the rumours, students gathered here.” Police confirmed they had no complaint of any rape and no evidence of any such crime. Some students also talked about a suicide, but the police said a woman had taken her own life near the agriculture department a few days earlier and there was no connection to any assault story.
Once the police started talking to the students, a lot of other issues came up. Many of them said they had problems with the university administration and felt their concerns weren’t being taken seriously. Toora said the police listened to them and were trying to get those sorted with the LPU management. “We spoke to students who had some issues with the LPU administration. We heard them and are trying to get them resolved. The situation is completely under control,” he told reporters. Heavy police force was put in place and the highway was cleared so vehicles could move again.
The university itself came out strongly against the claims. They said there is no truth in the rumours floating around and asked students, parents and everyone else not to believe or share unverified stuff. They called the whole thing false and baseless and said people should only trust official information from the university.
This happened just a day after something similar at Chitkara University in Patiala. There also students had protested after unverified posts claimed two girls had died by suicide on campus, and that too turned rough with a police vehicle getting damaged. Two private universities in Punjab seeing this kind of unrest back to back has people talking.
Police are still checking the damage done to the LPU property and said they will take legal action where needed. Some reports mentioned an FIR process was started on the basis of what students said and a special team was formed, but at the main time of the incident the authorities still had nothing concrete confirming any rape.
For the students it was about wanting justice and feeling heard. For the police and the university it was about calming a situation that started from posts no one could verify. By morning the campus was quieter, the road was open again, and talks were going on between student leaders and the management. Still, the broken glass, the burnt things, and the blocked highway showed how quickly online messages can turn a night into chaos.
That’s where things stand right now. No confirmation of the original claim, just a lot of damage, unanswered questions from the students, and a reminder of how fast rumours can travel and cause real trouble.
Sources: Times of India, The Indian Express, Business Standard, Mathrubhumi English, Rediff.com, India Today, Republic World, Hindustan Times, IANS.
@Rohit Manral