LPU protest: Mid-term exams postponed, classes suspended; 3 students retract on Registrar video

The varsity administration advised all students, including hostellers, to return to their hometowns and, for those preferring to stay back in hostels or other places of residence, not to participate in the protests.

Police on Monday said traffic movement on National Highway-44, which had been blocked by protesting students for over 15 hours, has been restored, and that the situation has been brought under control.

Students in Registrar video withdraw statement

Bringing a new twist to the case, three female students shown in a video released by University Registrar Dr Monika Gulati to state that no rape incident took place in their hostel have backtracked on their statements in another video.

As the protests intensified on campus on Sunday, Dr Gulati released a video in which three students from “Room No. 504” were featured.

“I would like you to hear what the girls residing in room number 504 of GH3 told us,” Dr Gulati is seen saying in the video.

The first student says that she and her other friends have been residents of Room No. 504 for the past two months and nothing as alleged by protesters happened in the room. She also asks police and students to stop bothering them.

“We have been extremely distressed today, and if we face further trouble, we will involve our parents. Please do not harass us,” the second student says.

Also read: ‘Rape-suicide’ allegations spark protest, arson in Punjab varsity; FIR lodged

The third student urges police not to come to their rooms, threatening that they will be forced to call their parents if their requests are not heard.

“The only conclusion to be drawn from all this is that anti-social elements and individuals with vested interests are behind this,” Dr Gulati says in the end.

However, NDTV reported that in a separate video, the same three students said that they said what they were instructed to say in Dr Gulati’s video and that their statements have been used without their knowledge or consent.

"[LPU administration] told us to record all this and say it for them. We were just instructed to say that students and others are bothering us. Half of our video was trimmed and posted on Instagram, about which we had no idea. Our consent was not taken. This was done without informing us, and now we are facing unnecessary abuse," one of the students said, as reported by NDTV.

The second student said that a random room was picked and named in the initial video.

2,000 policemen deployed

The protests began on Sunday following allegations about a student being raped on campus by an outsider. As students vandalised the campus and set up a blockade of the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway, police registered a complaint against an unknown suspect. Late on Sunday evening, the protests intensified with protesters pelting stones at police personnel and attacking their vehicles, leaving several policemen injured, as LPU authorities continued to deny the incident.

On Sunday evening, a large force of over 2,000 police personnel led by ADGP M F Farooqui entered the LPU campus, with police saying the situation has been brought under control now.

Farooqui told families of girl students staying on the university campus not to panic, assuring that everyone was safe.

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Jalandhar Police Commissioner Satinder Singh, DIG (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla and Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora accompanied the team, which went around the campus.

"The situation has been brought under control. Traffic movement on NH-44 will be restored soon," Singla said.

Protesters, police clash, vehicles set on fire

In the evening, police were trying to evict the protesters blocking NH-44 outside the campus since 8 am, when some students threw water bottles at them. They also clashed with police, who resorted to lathi charge, prompting the students to run towards the campus.

However, once inside, the students started to indiscriminately pelt police personnel with stones, the officials said.

Two police vehicles were also set on fire, while journalists and cops were seen running for cover, they said.

Jalandhar Rural SSP Harvinder Singh Virk said four to five police vehicles were damaged in the violence.

Additional force has been requisitioned to bring the situation under control, police said.

Rape case filed, SIT formed

Police said a rape case has been registered against an unknown person on a complaint by the students, and an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter, even though the university authority denied claims of any rape incident on campus, calling them “rumours”.

The incident followed a day after a huge protest by students of Chitkara University in Patiala, who allegedly set a police vehicle afire over unverified claims that two female students committed suicide on the campus.

Also read: Delhi Kalkaji gang-rape survivor says accused posed as policemen: Report

At LPU, dramatic scenes unfolded throughout the day, as a student climbed atop a decommissioned MiG-23UM aircraft installed on campus, while a few others mounted a military tank.

Vandalism on campus

Viral videos on social media also showed the protesting students purportedly damaging window panes and flower pots on campus, even setting some objects on fire, with cries of “we want justice” echoing in the background.

The protesters blocked a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 outside the campus, leading to a massive traffic jam and clashes with police in the evening.

Traffic was diverted from the Phagwara highway stretch to the Phagwara-Jandiala road for the Jalandhar side and via arterial roads as the blockade on NH-44 continued into Sunday evening.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on the national highway, with many stranded commuters arguing with the protesters, some requesting them to lift the blockade so that they could pass.

The protest began near Girls' Hostel-3 on the campus around 1 am on Sunday, after some students alleged that a female student staying there was raped by a plumber three days back.

They also claimed that the hostel warden was informed about the incident, but no action was taken.

LPU calls allegations ‘rumours’

The LPU management, however, maintained in a statement that there was no truth in the “rumours”, with Registrar Monica Gulati saying some anti-social elements were spreading “false, baseless and fabricated” allegations.

Asked about the students' claim of rape, LPU VC Jaspal Singh said the university doesn't know about any such incident, adding that the authorities will cooperate with the probe.

LPU authorities claimed that certain anti-social elements were creating unnecessary confusion among the students to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the university.

Also read: Delhi minor allegedly gang-raped by 3 men posing as cops; one held after gunfire

In the statement, the university said it appears to be a “deliberate” and “concerted” attempt to malign the reputation of the university and “tarnish its image”.

Students, parents and members of the public are requested not to believe, circulate or amplify such rumours; they should rely upon information communicated through official channels of the university, it said.

Talks inconclusive

Several rounds of talks between the protesting students and the LPU management remained inconclusive, even though LPU Vice Chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu assured the protesters that their genuine grievances would be resolved.

The protesters insisted that LPU Founder-Chancellor Ashok Mittal, who is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, come to the protest site and assure them to resolve their issues.

They also demanded that the University Management System, which grants them access to all varsity activities, not be blocked, and that they are not victimised for the protest.

The situation turned worse around 7.30 pm, when police tried to persuade the protesters to lift the road blockade. Instead, they were met with bottles hurled by the agitators, prompting them to resort to a mild lathi charge that further aggravated the situation.

The angry students pelted stones and attacked police vehicles on the highway, leaving several cops injured, officials said, adding that the protesters also set a couple of vehicles on fire.

Following reports of the rampage, a heavy police force was mobilised from Kapurthala, Jalandhar Rural and Hoshiarpur.

Probe team to examine CCTV footage, forensic samples

The students claimed that the victim girl, who was staying in Hostel No. 3, returned to her house after no action was taken in the matter, DIG Singla, who reached the spot, said.

An FIR has been registered based on the students' statement. A special investigation team (SIT) has also been formed, and a probe will be conducted involving the students' representatives, the DIG said.

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“We will analyse forensic samples, CCTV camera footage, call records, etc., before reaching a conclusion,” the officer said.

Replying to a question, the DIG said the girl students are demanding that the entire hostel staff should comprise only women.

“The management will address these demands," he said.

To another question, the DIG said a girl student from Telangana studying at LPU died by suicide 15 days ago.

“If the students say that there was foul play, action will be taken,” he said.

Opposition slams AAP government

The opposition Congress has slammed the AAP government over the law and order situation in Punjab.

“What is happening at LPU is deeply concerning. If students have serious questions or concerns about any incident, they deserve transparent, impartial and time-bound answers, not rumours or suppression. The violence is a testament to the failed law and order situation in Punjab,” state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said.

“NH-44 has been blocked since the morning, yet not a single representative from the AAP government has bothered to meet the students and hear their grievances,” Warring said.