The violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara following allegations of sexual assault against a woman student has triggered a political confrontation in Punjab, with opposition parties accusing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to maintain law and order and alleging police laxity.
The AAP has rejected the charges, defending the Punjab Police's handling of the situation and saying officers acted with restraint and professionalism.
The unrest began after students protested over claims that a woman student had been raped on the university premises. Police have registered an FIR against an unidentified person based on a student's complaint and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegation. The claim remains under investigation, while LPU has described the allegations as false, baseless and fabricated rumours.
Opposition seeks probe into campus violence
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday demanded an independent inquiry into the violence, arguing that the developments at LPU and Chitkara University appeared to indicate a wider pattern of unrest at private university campuses.
“The government has been caught unawares once again. It remains clueless about the cause of the violence. The spontaneous violence in two private university campuses in Punjab within a span of a few days was an ominous sign and was yet another example of the complete collapse of law and order in the state,” Warring said.
He said only an impartial and independent inquiry could establish the facts and stressed the need to address students' concerns about their safety, particularly those of female students.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also demanded an independent probe, alleging that the LPU violence had been orchestrated by AAP to target LPU founding chancellor and Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal.
Addressing a rally in Rajasansi, Badal alleged that the unrest was intended to settle political scores after Mittal left AAP and joined the BJP.
“AAP created the entire mischief to teach a lesson to Mittal for leaving the party and joining the BJP. In this process, it has besmirched the reputation of an institution, besides exposing the total collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab to the world,” Sukhbir said.
BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also accused the Mann government of failing to control the situation. He alleged that AAP was “rattled” by the support for the BJP's anti-drug yatras and claimed the government was allowing unrest in Jalandhar ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah's scheduled rally on September 30.
Shah is scheduled to address the rally marking the culmination of the BJP's ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’.
Bittu alleged that police adopted a “lax” approach, allowing arson and vandalism and leaving police personnel and students injured.
AAP defends police response
The AAP has rejected the opposition's allegations and said the Punjab Police acted professionally during the unrest.
AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Singh Pannu said the government's priority was the safety of every student studying in Punjab and urged that the SIT be allowed to complete its investigation.
“When the situation escalated, the Punjab Police did not use excessive force against the students. No force like batons or pellet guns was used against them. Instead, they were treated like our own sons and daughters. It took some time, but the situation was handled professionally,” Pannu said.
He accused opposition leaders of politicising a sensitive issue involving students and said the government would ensure that students' concerns were heard and investigated.
Pannu added that those responsible for vandalism and damage to property would face action according to law.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav also visited LPU following the unrest and defended the police response while directing that those responsible for vandalism be dealt with under the law. A SIT has been constituted to investigate the allegations and the violence.
The university suspended academic activities for 10 days from September 28 and postponed mid-term examinations following the violence.
LPU unrest follows violence at Chitkara University
The LPU violence came a day after a major protest at Chitkara University near Rajpura in Patiala district. Students had gathered on Friday night following unverified claims concerning the alleged suicide of two female students and reportedly damaged a Punjab Police vehicle.
Chitkara University denied that any suicide had taken place on campus and appealed to students not to believe rumours. Police said they were investigating the claims.
At LPU, students went on a rampage late Saturday, vandalising property and blocking a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside the campus over the claims concerning the alleged rape. Another wave of violence broke out on Sunday evening.
The LPU protest reportedly involved arson, vandalism, clashes with police and a prolonged blockade of the national highway. Police have registered a case and formed the SIT to establish what happened.
The two incidents within days have since become the focus of a wider political dispute in Punjab, with the opposition demanding accountability from the government and the AAP maintaining that the police response was measured and that the investigations should be allowed to establish the facts.