LPU Protest: Punjab HC Asks Police If Rape Actually Happened Before Phagwara Violence, Arson
· Free Press Journal
New Delhi: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday, September 30, sought clarity from the Punjab Police on whether a rape incident actually took place at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara before unverified social media claims triggered protests, violence and arson on the campus.
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A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor directed the Punjab government to file a status report explaining whether the alleged incident mentioned in a Reddit post was genuine and what steps police had taken to verify it.
HC Seeks Report On Viral Rape Claim
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by LPU student Ravi Raj, who has sought a CBI probe into the violence that erupted on the university campus.
According to Bar & Bench, the court has asked the state to clarify whether any incident matching the allegations circulated online on September 26 actually occurred. It also sought details of the police investigation and the steps taken to verify the social media claims.
The court further directed the state to explain what action was taken to remove the Reddit post if the alleged incident was found to be false, as well as what subsequent measures were undertaken.
The matter will next be heard on October 8.
How Social Media Claim Triggered Campus Unrest
The controversy began after an unverified Reddit post circulated on September 26, alleging that an outsider or worker had raped a female student inside a girls' hostel. The post further claimed that the university had sent the student home and that she later died by suicide.
The allegations quickly spread through WhatsApp and other social media platforms, leading to protests by students on the night of September 26-27.
According to reports by The Tribune and BBC, groups of students gathered outside the hostel and blocked National Highway 44 between Jalandhar and Phagwara. The situation subsequently escalated, with incidents of vandalism, arson and clashes with police reported on the campus.
Classes and examinations were suspended, several hostels were emptied and a heavy police deployment was made around the university.
Police Probe Yet To Establish Rape
Kapurthala Police registered FIR No. 162 on September 27 under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to rape, against an unidentified person based on complaints received from students.
A Special Investigation Team was subsequently formed to investigate the allegation. Police have examined CCTV footage, forensic material and phone records as part of the probe.
However, authorities have not so far confirmed that a rape actually took place. Senior police officials had described the allegations as rumours, while investigators have reportedly found no clear evidence in preliminary CCTV checks of an outsider entering the room identified in the social media posts.
No alleged victim or perpetrator has been identified publicly.
LPU Denies Allegations
LPU has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as “false, baseless and fabricated rumours”. The university also released a video featuring three female students associated with the room named in the social media claims, in which they said no such incident had taken place there.
The students later questioned the manner in which the video was recorded and circulated, alleging that it was scripted or edited and shared without their full consent.
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The High Court's latest order comes as investigators continue examining both the original rape allegation and the violence that followed its circulation.
The court's focus on whether the alleged incident actually occurred underscores the importance of establishing the factual basis of the social media claims that preceded the unrest.
For now, the alleged assault remains unconfirmed, while the investigation into the spread of the claim and the subsequent violence is continuing.