A student’s plea alleging that the arson and looting at Lovely Professional University was an organised attack by outsiders, set off by an unverified social media post, has led the Punjab and Haryana High Court to call for a detailed account of the police investigation before it considers whether the probe should go to the CBI.
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a comprehensive status report on the investigation into the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara, in a public interest litigation by a student of the university seeking transfer of the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation under the High Court’s supervision [Ravi Raj v. Union of India and Others].
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor called for a detailed report on the status of the investigation and the action taken by the police so far. Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla informed the Bench that FIRs have been registered and the investigation is under way.
What the petition alleges
According to the petition, the unrest began on the night of September 26 after an unverified post on Reddit circulated among students, claiming that a worker had sexually assaulted a girl student on campus, that the university had sent her home, and that she had later died. Acting on the post and on WhatsApp messages, about 2,000 students are said to have gathered outside a girls’ hostel, and at around 2 AM a section of them blocked National Highway 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar. No such incident has been established.
The petitioner alleges that through the night and into the next morning, buildings were set on fire, doors, glass panels and turnstiles were broken, goods were looted, and staff members who tried to calm the crowd were attacked. The plea states that the violence was continuing when it was filed.
Claim of an organised attack
The petitioner claims that a large number of outsiders, mostly around 30 years of age, arrived at the campus in open cars and other vehicles, carrying walkie-talkies, swords, rods, guns and sickles, with their faces covered. They are alleged to have broken open the main gates, destroyed CCTV cameras, computers and security posts, attacked guards, set fires, and looted shops, laptops, mobile phones, bank branches and ATMs on the campus.
While accepting that some hostel residents and students living in paying-guest accommodation outside the campus also took part, the petition contends that most of those involved were outsiders, and that the incident was not a spontaneous protest but a planned attack orchestrated from behind the scenes to defame the university and disturb the atmosphere in Punjab. It also refers to violence at Chitkara University, Rajpura, the previous night over similar claims about missing or deceased students, which the university and the police said had not occurred.
The petitioner submits that such violence harms students above all and has created an atmosphere of fear on the campus. The allegations in the petition are yet to be examined, and the Court has not expressed any view on the plea for a CBI probe.
Case Title: Ravi Raj v. Union of India and Others
Bench: Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor, Punjab and Haryana High Court
Appearance: Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla for the State of Punjab
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