Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday sought a status report from the Punjab government on the violence, arson and vandalism at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, directing authorities to clarify whether the alleged sexual assault that triggered the unrest had actually taken place.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor was hearing a public interest litigation filed by LPU student Ravi Raj, who has sought a CBI probe into the violence.
The court has not passed any order on the demand for a CBI investigation and fixed October 8 for the next hearing.
The Bench directed the state to file a report under the signatures of the Commissioner of Police, specifying whether the incident referred to in a social media post on September 26 had occurred.
It also sought details of the action taken if the alleged incident had taken place and, if it had not, what steps were taken to get the social media post removed and to deal with its circulation.
The case related to the violence that erupted at the university following the circulation of an unverified post on social media alleging that a female student had been raped on the campus and subsequently sent home.
The rumours triggered protests, which later escalated into vandalism, arson and damage to property, while a stretch of the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway was blocked.
During the hearing, the state government said the matter was under investigation.
The state government’s counsel also told the court that police were trying to trace the source of the Reddit post and were investigating both the alleged incident and the violence that followed.
The High Court also sought clarity on the responsibility for the violence and the action taken against those involved.
Punjab Police have registered three first information reports (FIRs) in connection with the unrest and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations, including arson, robbery and assault on police personnel.
The university had suspended academic activities following the unrest, while security was tightened on the campus.
(IANS)
