The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday sought a detailed status report from the Punjab Police on the violence that erupted at Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara, after an unverified social media post alleging that a girl student had been raped on campus triggered protests, arson and vandalism.
The directions came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by LPU B.Tech student Ravi Raj, who has sought a court-monitored CBI investigation into the entire episode. Alternatively, the petitioner has sought the constitution of a special investigation team(SIT) comprising officers from outside Punjab, headed by an officer not below the rank of inspector general of police (IGP).
A division bench headed by chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor directed that the status report be filed under the direct signatures of the police commissioner. The report is to clarify whether the alleged sexual assault referred to in the September 26 social media post actually took place, the action taken against those responsible for the violence, and steps taken to trace and remove the allegedly misleading online content. The matter has been listed for October 8.
The political backdrop to the unrest also figures prominently in the petition. Ravi Raj has claimed that LPU founder and chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the BJP in April 2026, while Punjab is scheduled to go to assembly polls in early 2027. The petitioner has contended that an independent investigation is required to establish the circumstances behind the violence and prevent the issue from becoming a political spectacle.
{{/usCountry}}The political backdrop to the unrest also figures prominently in the petition. Ravi Raj has claimed that LPU founder and chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal, a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the BJP in April 2026, while Punjab is scheduled to go to assembly polls in early 2027. The petitioner has contended that an independent investigation is required to establish the circumstances behind the violence and prevent the issue from becoming a political spectacle.
{{/usCountry}}According to the petition, an unverified Reddit post and subsequent WhatsApp messages claimed that a worker had raped a girl student at hostel GH-3 and that the university had sent her home. The petitioner said the claim led around 2,000 students to gather outside the hostel, followed by the blocking of the NH-44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar.
The plea further alleges that the situation escalated into arson, vandalism and looting, with buildings, gates, CCTV cameras, computers, security infrastructure and other property allegedly damaged. It also claims that outsiders entered the campus and that some were allegedly armed. These allegations remain matters for investigation and have not been established by the court.
The petition also raises questions over the conflicting accounts surrounding the alleged rape. While police and university authorities have said preliminary inquiries did not substantiate the allegation, an FIR was registered against an unidentified person to investigate the sexual assault claim.