Phagwara: A day after the Lovely Professional University (LPU) was ransacked and several buildings were set ablaze in Punjab’s Phagwara, close to a hundred police officers were stationed at the campus. Several riot control props and vehicles were stationed along the NH-44 which was blocked by the students a night before.
LPU was fortified after a two-day student protest turned violent on Sunday. The students had taken to the streets demanding a probe and accountability in connection with an alleged sexual assault and suicide of a female student. Students in large numbers demanded the owner, BJP MP Ashok Mittal, meet them and set the record straight.
Punjab Police, however, is yet to find a substantive lead, identify an alleged victim or obtain a statement pointing to a possible perpetrator.
Following the peaceful protest on Saturday, matters turned violent when the college’s gates were breached. The students claim that outsiders carrying sharp weapons entered the college, ransacked stores and set fire to several buildings. Sources in the police said six motorbikes and three SUVs were also burnt.
Following the night of violence, the Punjab police stationed a large number of police forces, including paramilitary forces to guard the gates of the varsity. Meanwhile, students in large numbers were seen leaving the college campus for home with backpacks and suitcases. The student exodus had begun on Monday morning when college authorities postponed mid term exams and declared a 10-day off. Students were seen boarding inter state buses to leave for their hometowns at night.
