Punjab High Court asks state govt for LPU protest status report
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a status report from the Punjab government regarding a probe into violence and vandalism that erupted at Lovely Professional University in Phagwara. The matter came up for hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra on a plea by LPU BTech student Ravi Raj, who sought a CBI probe into the incidents at the university.
Additional Solicitor Advocate General Satyapal Jain told the court it was important to identify those behind spreading misleading information on campus, expressing apprehension that a planned conspiracy appears to be behind the unrest. According to the petition, an unverified post was circulated among students on the night of September 26 claiming a female student had been raped and sent home. Students subsequently gathered outside the girls' hostel and later blocked National Highway-44. A large number of outsiders carrying swords, rods and sickles with covered faces then reached the LPU campus, broke open the varsity main gates, destroyed CCTV cameras, looted shops and set several places on fire.
The High Court has sought details on the Punjab Police's investigation, including what action has been taken against the culprits and what measures are being pursued. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for October 8.
