LPU Students Vandalize Campus and Block Highways Over Unverified Rape Rumors

Students at Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab, protested after unverified social media messages alleged that a female student had been sexually assaulted. The demonstrations escalated into vandalism and small fires on campus, while students blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway and disrupted traffic. Police said they had received no complaint and had found no evidence supporting the circulating allegations; officials also said the situation was under control and they were speaking with students about grievances concerning the university administration. LPU denied the rumors, calling them false, and urged the public not to spread unverified claims. Some protesters said they wanted authorities to register a case and investigate their concerns.
Police said a woman had died by suicide near the university’s agriculture department four to five days earlier, but officials found no complaint or evidence linking her death to the rape rumors.
Reports described the protest as involving around 2,000 students and said it began near the girls’ hostel; some claims circulating among students alleged gang rape or suicide, and social media posts also accused a worker of involvement.
Police said the alleged woman’s identity and that of the purported accused had not been established, and they had received no complaint from the woman or her family.
The LPU unrest followed a protest at Chitkara University in Patiala the previous day, where students damaged a police vehicle amid unverified claims that two female students had died by suicide.
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