Tensions grip across university campuses in Indian Punjab as protests turn violent
LPU shuts classes for 10 days after unrest over back-to-back rape of female students
Phagwara: Tension has escalated across university campuses in Indian Punjab, with violent student protests, clashes with police and disruption of academic activities following unverified claims circulating on social media.
Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara suspended regular classes for 10 days from Monday and postponed mid-term examinations indefinitely after protests over an alleged rape of a female student turned violent. The university advised students who remain on campus to stay inside their hostels or places of residence and avoid involvement in the unrest.
The protests began after claims spread that a female student had been sexually assaulted on campus by an outsider. The university has denied the allegation and described the claims as rumours, while police have registered a rape case against an unknown person on the basis of a complaint and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter.
The situation deteriorated on Sunday when protesting students blocked National Highway-44, linking Delhi with Amritsar, and clashed with police. Officials said students pelted stones at police personnel and damaged several police vehicles, while videos circulating online showed damage to university property and objects being set on fire. A large police force, reportedly numbering more than 2,000 personnel, was deployed on the campus as authorities moved to restore order.
The unrest at LPU came only days after another private university in Punjab witnessed protests triggered by unverified social-media claims. At Chitkara University near Rajpura in Patiala district, students protested after rumours alleged that two female students had died by suicide. The university denied that any such incident had occurred, while police began an inquiry into the origin of the claims and the subsequent vandalism.
The back-to-back incidents have raised concerns over the speed with which unverified information circulating through student groups and social media can trigger panic, mass mobilisation and violence on university campuses. At LPU, the disruption has now forced the suspension of academic activities and postponement of examinations, while authorities continue investigating the allegations and the violence that followed.
