New Delhi: Punjab Police have arrested nine people in connection with violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) and two in connection with violence at Chitkara University, the police said Friday. The arrests come days after both universities witnessed protests and mob violence following allegations of the sexual assault of a female student at LPU and missing students at Chitkara University.
The Patiala Police Friday arrested two former students of Chitkara University and named eight others in connection with the provocation of violence on the campus. “The two accused who have been arrested repeatedly posted misleading content on pages like ‘Chitkara University Memes’ and circulated the same on WhatsApp and Instagram groups,” said SSP (Patiala) Harman Hans.
He added that hours before the unrest began, the accused had posted a video of an ambulance on the page and manipulated the timing. “The video alleged that two girls had died and they were being taken away in the ambulance,” the SSP told ThePrint.
The Patiala Police identified the two as Aryan Shukla, a 2026 passout, and Himanshu, a dropout from Chitkara University. “Aryan was arrested from Ambala, where he stays while working from home with a Bengaluru-based organisation, and Himanshu was arrested from his residence in Nangal. Himanshu had dropped out one and a half years ago from Chitkara and since then has been attending Chandigarh University,” said the SSP.
He added that the police have identified eight others who helped spread rumours and provoked students. “We have sent several teams to nab the other accused as well,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police arrested nine persons, including a minor, from across the country in connection with the mob violence and unrest at LPU, the police said Friday. The police have also identified 20 others involved in the unrest. Of the nine, seven are students, while two are outsiders, DIG Naveen Singla (Jalandhar Range) said.
The police arrested a minor from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, who they claimed was the same student photographed standing on a decommissioned MiG fighter aircraft displayed at the university. “During his arrest, the minor’s phone was seized, which had the same photo as his wallpaper,” Singla told ThePrint.
Among those arrested Thursday was Sonipat resident and social media influencer James Dahiya and Ashutosh from Hamirpur, Singla added. The rest were arrested Friday. These include Antriksh Dutta and Sahil Singh from Jammu, and Krishna Kumar Rajesh and Bhavishya Karan from Maharashtra, the officer said.
Meanwhile, another accused, identified as Mohammad Farhan, a social media influencer and LPU student, escaped when the Punjab Police was conducting raids at his residence in Kashmir, the officer said.
Among the outsiders, the police have arrested Gagandeep and Jasmeet, residents of Phagwara. “Both work at different pizza outlets with branches on the campus. They both frequently visit the campus and on the day of the violence they reached the spot after the violence began. Both are involved in looting,” said Singla.
“Two FIRs were registered over arson, looting, damage to infrastructure, vandalism and burning of police vehicles at LPU. FIR No. 163 was registered at Satnam Pura Police Station under Sections 326(G), 324(4), 309(4) and relevant provisions of the Punjab Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act. FIR No. 106 was registered at Sadar Phagwara Police Station under Sections 109, 110, 132, 221, 326(G) and 324(5) of the BNS. Based on CCTV footage, technical analysis, media and social media posts, and other supporting evidence, nine people have so far been arrested in the two cases involving vandalism and the burning of police vehicles,” Singla said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)