Phagwara, Sep 28 (PTI) Calm returned to the Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus here on Monday, a day after violent protests rocked the private varsity with many students heading home following suspension of classes for 10 days even as the incident triggered a political slugfest between the ruling AAP and opposition parties.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav visited the university and asserted that vandals would face action as police were conducting a comprehensive scientific and technical investigation into the violence which erupted over allegations that a woman student was raped on the campus.
The protests snowballed into a political controversy, with the BJP, the Congress and SAD attacking the AAP government over law and order and questioning the police handling of the situation, while demanding an independent probe into the incident.
However, AAP asserted that police handled the situation with restraint and professionalism, while hitting back at the opposition for “politicising” a sensitive matter involving students.
“At a time when the situation involved students and required sensitivity, some opposition leaders appeared more interested in creating controversy than in allowing the situation to be resolved. They seem to be behaving like vultures, waiting for dead bodies, rather than helping to ensure that the situation remains peaceful,” said AAP leader Baltej Pannu.
Mobile internet services were suspended in and around LPU on Monday. However, officials in the evening said the services will be resumed.
DGP Yadav, who visited the LPU on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, said police made sustained efforts to facilitate dialogue between students and the university authorities for an amicable resolution of their grievances.
The LPU authorities held a meeting with the police, civil administration and students’ representatives, reiterating that outsiders were to be blamed for the unrest.
The authorities also said the campus was safe, with normal activities resuming.
Earlier, traffic movement on National Highway-44, which had been blocked by the protesting students from the LPU for over 15 hours, was restored, the police said.
A heavy police deployment remained at the university, located along the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway, as students carrying bags and suitcases were seen leaving the campus. Anxious parents also arrived to take their children home.
The campus bore signs of violence, with property damaged at several places, while many students blamed outsiders for the vandalism.
On Sunday, LPU students allegedly went on a rampage vandalising property and blocking a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside their campus over claims that an outsider had raped a female student on the university premises.
Later that evening, the protesting students allegedly pelted police personnel with stones and attacked their vehicles, leaving several cops injured, officials said.
In a related development, the Punjab State Women Commission took suo motu cognisance of two protest incidents at LPU and Chitkara University that took place over claims about an alleged rape of a student by an outsider and two girl students’ suicide, respectively.
The panel sought detailed reports, including copies of the FIRs and safety measures for students on the campuses from the respective district and police administrations.
Referring to the LPU protest, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu accused the AAP government in the state of sending miscreants to LPU ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally on September 30 in Jalandhar.
“After Sh. Ashok Mittal left AAP, the party allegedly hatched a sinister plan to force LPU to shut down,” Bittu alleged in a post on X late Sunday night.
Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, who joined the BJP after quitting AAP, is the founder chancellor of LPU.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring demanded an independent probe into the campus violence in the state, noting that there appeared to be a pattern in the violence in the two university campuses.
He said the government has been caught unawares once again as it still remains clueless about the cause of the violence.
Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, while criticizing the Punjab government over law and order, alleged that outsiders were brought to provoke the agitation.
“The livelihood of thousands and education of lakhs of students are at stake. Will this attract investment to Punjab? Was this done merely to settle a personal score,” he asked.
As LPU authorities suspended classes for 10 days starting Monday, many students left the campus for homes in the morning. Mid-term examinations have also been postponed until further notice.
A girl student from Punjab said at present, the situation is normal. All students are going back home and police have been deployed, she said.
She blamed outsiders for indulging in violence and damaging properties, claiming that the college students did not vandalise anything.
A student from Bihar said the situation was really bad on Sunday and termed it “scary”. Normalcy returned only after police came inside the campus, he said.
He also put the onus for violence on outsiders, asserting that students were holding a peaceful protest.
Another girl student repeated the claim about outsiders damaging properties on the campus.
During his visit to LPU, DGP Yadav asserted that vandals would face action, saying no one will be allowed to take law into their own hands.
Yadav said the police made efforts to get the students’ grievances, which they had against the private university’s administration, resolved by facilitating discussion with the authorities.
The violence at LPU campus came a day after students of Chitkara University in Patiala allegedly set a police vehicle afire over unverified claims that two female students had died by suicide on the university premises.
Viral videos on social media also showed the protesters, purportedly students, damaging window panes and flower pots on campus, and setting some objects on fire, with cries of “we want justice” echoing in the background. PTI CHS VSD KVK
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