Masks, Iron Rods, Fire: The Night Violence Tore Through Punjab's LPU

The protests over an unverified social media claim about the alleged rape and suicide of a student at Lovely Professional University in Punjab's Phagwara turned into a day of vandalism and a blockade of a national highway. By Monday, the university campus was heavily guarded, classes had been suspended for 10 days and students were leaving with suitcases and bags as anxious parents arrived to take them home.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered strict action against those responsible for the violence, following which Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav visited the campus and reviewed the situation. Police have registered an FIR and formed a high-level Special Investigation Team to investigate the case. 

LPU has repeatedly described the allegations as false, baseless and fabricated. Yet students say they believed the allegation was genuine after messages circulated online and, according to one student, after information was allegedly received from the girls' hostel.

Security tightens at the Lovely Professional University (LPU) complex following the students' protest that turned violent over the alleged rape of a female student and inaction by the authorities in Phagwara, Kapurthala, on Monday.
Photo Credit: ANI

How The Protest Began

The protest began near Girls' Hostel-3 around 1 am on Sunday. According to the account given by one LPU student, students had received a message on Reddit claiming that a girl had been raped and had died by suicide two days later.

"We got a message on Reddit that a girl was raped and she committed suicide two days later. So, we started a peaceful protest for her. We were not getting any answers. Some students started vandalism and the police were torched by the night," a student told NDTV. "We got a message from the girls' hostel that it was true. The girls' hostel was vacated and the girls were sent home."

Police, however, had not confirmed any such rape complaint when the protests began. The allegations still remained unverified. As more students joined the protest from different hostels, the situation deteriorated.

Smoke billows from a fire during a protest by students at the Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus, in Phagwara, Punjab, early Sunday
Photo Credit: PTI

Videos circulating widely on social media show hundreds of people on the campus grounds with many wearing masks to hide their identities. One particular video showed an unidentified person on top of an Indian Air Force MiG-23UM aircraft and another group on top of a military tank installed at the campus. 

Visuals from the university show property was damaged. Window panes were smashed. Some objects were set on fire. Protesters also blocked National Highway-44, the major road linking Jalandhar and Phagwara, outside the university. The blockade lasted for more than 15 hours before traffic was restored on Monday. 

What Students Told NDTV

The identity of those involved in the violence quickly became another source of dispute. Students interviewed after the unrest said they could not establish whether the people involved were fellow students or outsiders.One student said many of those involved had covered their faces.

"We were not able to identify who was a student and who was not. Most of them were wearing masks. Some were wearing masks to protect themselves from the CCTV. Some people who came from outside were also wearing masks,' one student told NDTV. "But the difference was that most of the people who were beating her up had proper iron rods with them. The main intention of the people who were vandalising was to break everything. They wanted to spread violence. They wanted to break everything."

Asked whether he believed the protest should have been based on a verified claim, the student replied that the central issue was justice.

"The issue is about justice. Some people who were from outside were also involved in this. Because of this, there was a lot of violence. Yesterday, the police burned down the cars," he alleged. 

A view of a vehicle vandalised by students during a protest outside Lovely Professional University (LPU), in Phagwara on Sunday.
Photo Credit: ANI

Police are now examining CCTV footage as part of the investigation into the violence. The authorities have also said they are investigating the possible involvement of people from outside the university. 

On Sunday night, a force led by Additional Director General of Police M F Farooqui entered the campus. Senior police officers and other personnel subsequently conducted a flag march. DGP Gaurav Yadav said officers had consciously exercised restraint because the people protesting were students.

"Our officers had taken this view that we will use minimum force. So, a very conscious decision was taken not to use force on the students," he said. "Since there were grievances against the university administration, efforts were made to sort out the grievances through discussions. So, we were able to solve the issue yesterday by talking to the students with an open mind. The FIR was filed regarding the incident. After filing the FIR, a high-level special investigation team has been formed."

The University's Version

LPU has rejected the allegation that a female student was raped on campus. Registrar Monica Gulati said on Sunday that anti-social elements were spreading "false, baseless and fabricated" allegations. The university then released a video featuring three female students from room 504 of the hostel.

"We are students of room number 504 and nothing of the sort has happened in our room. We have been living in the room for the past two months. Please, students and police should not come to harass us," a student said. 

"And police should not come to our room repeatedly; otherwise, we will call our parents,' another student said. 

But the video itself became another source of controversy as the same three students featured in the video released their own video, alleging that they were told what to say and that their video was used without consent

"Our video has been trimmed and posted on Instagram. We had no idea about this, and no consent was taken from us. Now, unnecessarily, we are being abused," one of the students said in a video circulating on social media.