New Delhi: The preliminary probe into an alleged rape case that triggered violent student protests over the weekend at Lovely Professional University (LPU) has made little headway, with Punjab Police yet to find a substantive lead, identify an alleged victim or obtain a statement pointing to a possible perpetrator.
What began as a piece of information circulating among students—that a rape had allegedly taken place days earlier inside the university’s Girls Hostel 3 hostel—quickly spiralled into a massive protest on Saturday and Sunday. But even as the allegation brought hundreds of students onto the streets, the police was at odds in trying to piece together a case with little more than a few scraps of information.
According to the police, none of the students questioned so far has provided information that could establish the identity of the alleged victim or lead investigators to a possible accused.
“Not one student among the hundreds who are protesting has given a statement providing any clue about the identity of the victim, who could then be traced and statement recorded to take the investigation forward,” a senior police officer told ThePrint, requesting anonymity given the volatile situation on the ground.
“Initially, it was alleged that the offence had taken place in room number 504, but nothing suspicious was found there. Then five more room numbers such as 142, 147 were given as possible locations of the alleged offence. However, students residing in those rooms objected to police inquiries, citing violation of their privacy,” the officer said, adding that the probe will be taken to a “logical conclusion”, with evidence.
The police has also accessed surveillance footage from the hostel and surrounding areas as they attempt to reconstruct events and establish whether there is any evidence that can corroborate the allegation.
The students had been protesting since the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, alleging inaction by the LPU administration led by Chairman, Ashok Mittal, a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mittal had jumped ship to the BJP from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the ruling party in Punjab, in April.
After what appeared to be a brief lull on Sunday morning, the protest resumed on Sunday evening, turning violent as the police launched a crackdown allegedly after water bottles and stones were thrown at policemen deployed at the spot in Phagwara. Police said at least three personnel were left injured while several students, including girls, were seen beaten up in videos that emerged from the site of the protest. By late evening, the situation had been brought under control.
“The situation is back in control, and efforts are underway to open the national highway connecting Delhi and Amritsar,” Special DG, Law and Order, Praveen Kumar Sinha told ThePrint. He further said that a thorough probe has been launched into the allegations levelled by the students against an unknown and unidentified university staff.
Based on the representations given by the students, the Punjab Police lodged a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023. “Three or four days ago, a girl was raped by an unknown person in GH-3, but no action was taken against him. Please register an FIR and punish the perpetrator,” the FIR filed at the Satnampura police station read.
According to the FIR, a copy of which ThePrint has seen, the police officer documented that the alleged offence amounted to a case of rape and that all surveillance cameras installed at the hostels of the university will be checked to identify the victim and the accused.
After the FIR was registered, Jalandhar Range DIG Naveen Singla said that the police had constituted a special team led by the Phagwara Superintendent of Police, and that representatives of the students’ union would also be part of the process to ensure its authenticity. Singla also said that a separate probe had been initiated on allegations of suicide by a student from Telangana in the university campus.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)