New Delhi: Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday alleged that the violence and protests at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab were a ‘police-sponsored agitation and hooliganism’ and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of targeting the university after its owner, Ashok Mittal, joined the BJP.
Speaking to reporters, Channi said the actual situation could be understood only after visiting the spot and questioned the handling of the allegations that triggered the protests.
“The actual situation becomes clear only after visiting the spot. If rape occurred there, an FIR and a report should have been registered. Following that, people came from outside and engaged in hooliganism. This was a police-sponsored agitation and hooliganism. The Aam Aadmi Party government did all this solely because the owner of Lovely Professional University, Ashok Mittal, joined the BJP,” he said.
Channi further alleged that the developments had caused significant damage to the university and questioned who would be held responsible for the losses.
“Just because of this, an attempt was made to destroy his university. It is being said that a loss of around Rs 100 crore has occurred. Who is responsible for this? Why did the police take no action for so long? If a rape occurred, why was an FIR not filed?” he asked.
He also questioned the police response to the violence on the campus and sought accountability for the alleged assault on students.
“After that, students were beaten up severely. Who is responsible for that? Why has no action been taken against the police officers and personnel who brutally beat up the students? And why wasn’t the situation handled in time?” Channi said.
The protests at LPU in Phagwara followed the circulation of an unverified social media claim regarding the alleged rape and suicide of a student. The protests later escalated into vandalism and a blockade of a national highway.
By Monday, the university campus had been placed under heavy security, classes were suspended for 10 days, and several students began leaving the campus with their luggage as anxious parents arrived to take them home.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered strict action against those responsible for the violence. Following the directive, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav visited the campus and reviewed the situation. Police have registered an FIR and constituted a high-level Special Investigation Team to investigate the matter.
LPU has repeatedly described the allegations as false, baseless and fabricated. However, students said they believed the allegation was genuine after messages circulated online and, according to one student, information was allegedly received from the girls’ hostel.
The protest reportedly began near Girls’ Hostel-3 around 1 a.m. on Sunday. According to an LPU student, students had received a message on Reddit claiming that a girl had been raped and had died by suicide two days later.
Videos circulating widely on social media showed hundreds of people on the campus grounds, with several individuals wearing masks to conceal their identities.
(IANS)
