- LPU Chancellor denies campus sexual assault claims, calls them false.
- Attributes student unrest to "organised conspiracy" to destabilize Punjab.
- Blames Reddit rumours for triggering violence, cites similar incidents.
LPU Unrest: Days after, students of Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab’s Phagwara allegedly went on a rampage on the campus early Sunday, damaging property and blocking a national highway following claims that a female student had been sexually harassed by an outsider near the university’s girls’ hostel. BJP MP and LPU Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal has firmly denied any sexual assault on the campus, labelling it 'rumours'.
LPU's Chancellor on Thursday claimed that the recent violent protests on the university campus were the result of a "highly organised conspiracy" planned by malicious elements to spread anarchy and destabilise Punjab.
This comes after rumours began spreading online which claimed that a female student staying near a girls' hostel on the campus had been allegedly raped by a plumber three days earlier, reported PTI.
Following this, around 1 AM on Sunday, some students allegedly set cars on fire, damaged campus property, and blocked the New Delhi-Amritsar national highway for over 12 hours.
What did the LPU Chancellor say?
Mittal dismissed online claims that sparked mass student outrage, attributing the unrest to fabricated rumours circulated primarily via the social media platform Reddit.
Refuting the allegations, Mittal stated that preliminary enquiries by law enforcement and institutional checks confirmed no such assault took place. He highlighted a sequential pattern of unrest across Punjab campuses, noting that a similar incident involving unverified rumours occurred at Chitkara University in Rajpura just 24 hours prior to the events at LPU.
"The rumour spread via the Reddit platform is completely false. Initial enquiries have confirmed that no such incident ever took place. It was done to destabilise LPU. Incidents occurred at Chitkara University in Rajpura one day, and then with me the very next day—within a span of 24 hours. This indicates a highly organised conspiracy orchestrated by malicious elements, whether from within the state, from outside the state, or even from abroad."
He also condemned videos showing people climbing and dancing on a decommissioned MiG-23 fighter jet gifted by the Indian Air Force and installed as a memorial near the university's main gate.
"Efforts are being made to drive a wedge between the Hindu and Sikh communities in Punjab. There is an attempt to spread anarchy across the state... There is a MiG-23—gifted to me by the Air Force—stationed at the main gate as a memorial. You may have seen videos where people climb onto it and dance. Attempts are being made to demoralise our armed forces, and national security is being compromised."
The unrest further led to massive vandalism, damage to campus infrastructure, and clashes that spilt onto the national highway between police officials and students. Moreover, LPU authorities suspended physical classes for 10 days and postponed mid-term examinations.
( With inputs from ANI )