A clash broke out between the police and students on Sunday evening, when protesters allegedly threw some bottles and stones at the police.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar) Harvinder Singh Virk told journalists that a few police personnel have sustained injuries and police vehicles have been damaged.
LPU denies allegationsIn a statement, LPU said the allegation of rape on campus was untrue.
“We investigated the matter and the allegations did not hold up, no such students were found who died by suicide.
The students are also satisfied now,” Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans told The Hindu.
Allegations that a student was raped on the campus of Lovely Professional University in Punjab sparked an agitation that led to protesters, mainly students, blocking National Highway-44 near Phagwara on Sunday (September 27, 2026), disrupting traffic and clashing with police, hours after they went on a rampage, vandalising university property.
The police registered a first information report (FIR) containing rape charges against unknown persons and a special investigation team has been constituted to probe the matter on the basis of students’ allegations that a a female student residing in the university’s GH-3 hostel was raped by a plumber three days ago. Students claimed that no action had been taken in the matter so far, and said the woman has since returned home, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla. LPU has denied the allegations.
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Students clash with police
Despite the FIR and assurances from LPU Vice Chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu, protesters held their ground through Sunday, demanding that the university’s founder-chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP, Ashok Mittal, personally come to the protest site to give them his assurance of action in the case. In April, Mr. Mittal was one of seven Rajya Sabha MPs who quit the State’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the BJP.
A clash broke out between the police and students on Sunday evening, when protesters allegedly threw some bottles and stones at the police. Police responded with a lathi charge. Some police vehicles were then set on fire. Senior Superintendent of Police (Jalandhar) Harvinder Singh Virk told journalists that a few police personnel have sustained injuries and police vehicles have been damaged.
Earlier, videos on social media platforms showed protesters, some of them with their faces covered by handkerchiefs, vandalising property inside the campus, damaging window panes and flower pots, and setting some objects on fire.
LPU denies allegations
In a statement, LPU said the allegation of rape on campus was untrue. LPU registrar Monica Gulati said that rumours circulating on social media were false and misleading, and were circulated by mischievous sources. The university also released a video statement featuring three female students from room no. 504 of the GH-3 hostel, in which they claimed that no such incident had taken place, and said they had been staying there for the past two months
Kapurthula’s Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Toora said that police were informed about students gathering at the LPU campus and blocking the road at around 1:45 a.m. “When we arrived, we learnt that the gathering was triggered by rumours. We spoke to the students who had grievances against the LPU administration and we are working to get those resolved,” he said. A heavy police force was deployed at the university to control the situation.
Notably, the incident at LPU comes a day after students at Patiala-based Chitkara University held a protest, alleging that two female students had died by suicide on their campus and their bodies were disposed of. After the initial probe, however, the police said the allegations were unfounded. “We investigated the matter and the allegations did not hold up, no such students were found who died by suicide. The students are also satisfied now,” Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans told The Hindu.
