LPU Unrest: Two days after a massive protest broke out at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi alleged that the protests and subsequent developments were politically motivated, claiming the university was targeted after its owner, Ashok Mittal, joined the BJP.
He accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of attempting to destroy the university following Mittal’s political affiliation with the BJP. Channi also questioned the handling of the situation, raising concerns over the police response and the treatment of students during the protests.
"Outsiders went there and engaged in hooliganism. This hooliganism was sponsored by the police themselves. LPU Founder Ashok Mittal has joined the BJP, and after that, the Aam Aadmi Party government has tried to destroy this university," Channi said.
Channi also questioned the reported financial losses suffered by the university during the unrest.
"A loss of around 100 crore rupees, as reported—I don't know for sure—has occurred, so who is responsible?" he asked.
He further sought accountability over the alleged use of force against students and questioned why the situation was not brought under control earlier.
"And after that, students were beaten up severely; who is responsible for that? Why was no action taken against those police officers and personnel who beat up the students so brutally? And why was the situation not handled in time?" he said.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is facing criticism from the Opposition over the handling of the situation. Former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also questioned the government's response, saying the authorities should have acted swiftly after students began protesting.
"What happened in LPU? The govt has acted very late...they should have acted swiftly. Students came to the street and protested. This should not work like this," Randhawa said.
What happened at LPU?
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.
Students allegedly blocked a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside the university, resulting in massive traffic jams that lasted for more than 12 hours.
In purported videos, some protesters with their faces covered with handkerchiefs were seen vandalising shops in the university mall and other properties, while some were seen taking items from a grocery shop. Other purported videos showed a damaged ATM kiosk and several vehicles on the campus.
The Punjab Police said unverified claims and viral rumours circulating on social media had triggered violent student unrest and violence at two major private university campuses in 48 hours.
Police are investigating separately into both incidents at LPU in Phagwara and Chitkara University in Rajpura. They found that fake accounts alleging sexual assaults, student suicides and mysterious disappearances had been intentionally circulated which triggered the protests. Officials said no factual basis could be established for any of the viral allegations.
Meanwhile, the LPU administration suspended classes for 10 days from Monday, prompting a large number of students to leave the campus for their homes. Lovely Professional University Pro-Chancellor Dr (Col) Rashmi Mittal appealed to students to remain calm and verify information before acting on social media posts following an “unfortunate” incident on the university campus over the weekend.