Stir erupts, three held over Mohali varsity video row

A woman student of the private varsity, and two Himachal residents were arrested by Mohali police after massive protests rock the campus over objectionable video leak row.

A massive protest erupted on the campus of a private university in Mohali over “rumours” that objectionable videos of several women students were recorded by a hosteller, following which police arrested a woman student and a youth from Himachal Pradesh.

Students protesting over ‘objectionable video leaks’ at Chandigarh University on Sunday. (Sanjeev Sharma/HT)

Additional director general of police (ADGP) Gurpreet Deo, who reached the Chandigarh University campus along with other senior officials, to take stock of the situation after the Saturday night protests, told reporters that the woman student appeared to have shared a video of herself with the youth and no objectionable video of any other student was found. University authorities also rejected as “false and baseless” reports that claimed videos of several women students in the varsity hostel were made and leaked on social media and distraught students had attempted suicide after the episode.

The Mohali police said a 22-year-old student of the university, situated on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road, has been arrested after an FIR was registered under section 354-C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66(E) of the IT Act.

The Himachal police also apprehended a youth from Rohru in Shimla district and handed him over to a Punjab police team. “It was after the request of our counterparts in Punjab that Himachal Police apprehended the youth,” Sanjay Kundu, HP Police DGP tweeted. He further said a 31-year-old man, a resident of tehsil Theog, was detained at Dhalli in Shimla, adding that he was taken by the Punjab Police to inquire his involvement in the case.

The girl had allegedly shared the objectionable videos with the youth. Their mobile phones have been seized for forensic analysis, said police.

The standoff, however, continued as students started a fresh sit-in and refused to accept the police version, accusing the university authorities of “suppressing facts’’ and sought a “fair probe” into the matter. Most of the protesters were dressed in black clothes and chanted “we want justice” in the presence of police.

Tension prevailed on the campus as protesting students confronted university and police officials, questioning why the university had on Sunday evening declared September 19 and 20 as “non-teaching days” thus declaring a holiday for students “if nothing had happened on the campus”. The private university has around 30,000 students.

The state government immediately swung into damage-control mode, with chief minister Bhagwant Mann ordering a probe into the incident, saying that severe action will be taken against those found guilty. “Sad to hear about the unfortunate incident at Chandigarh University...our daughters are our honour. A high-level probe has been ordered into the incident…strict action will be taken against whosoever is guilty,” he tweeted.

The matter had come to light on Saturday, when some students in the hostel saw the accused shooting a video while she was in the washroom and thought she was filming others and came out in protest.

Around 9 pm on Saturday, the university students held a massive protest on the campus. The police were forced to use mild lathicharge even as the protesting students resorted to stone pelting. There were rumours that some girls also tried to commit suicide after the report of the leaked video, but the police outrightly rejected these claims, stating that no suicide attempt by any student has been made.

A couple of girls fainted and were taken to a local civil hospital, from where they were discharged after a couple of hours, they said.

In the FIR, six girls of the hostel have alleged that their videos have been sent by the girl, but the police say the accused girl has only sent her video.

Senior police and civil administration officers, including Mohali district magistrate Amit Talwar, Ropar range DIG Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and SSP Mohali Vivek Sheel Soni, were also present on the campus. Talwar has assured to conduct a magisterial probe in a time-bound manner.

He also announced that a special investigating team (SIT) headed by a woman will be set up to probe the incident.

“The video, which she shared by the girl was not uploaded on any site but went to three people. We have got the videos deleted,” said ADGP Deo. She further said most of the girls, who panicked, joined the university courses just 20 days back, and there are 4,000 girls in the hostel.

In a statement, RS Bawa, Pro-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, said, “There are rumors that seven girls have committed suicide whereas the fact is that no girl has made any such attempt.”

Bawa further said, “There is another rumor which circulating through media that 60 objectionable MMS has been found of different students. This is totally false and baseless. During the preliminary investigation conducted by the university, no objectionable video of any girl was found except a personal video shot by the girl who had shared it with her boyfriend,” he stated.

The incident sparked a flurry of reactions from political parties and the central and state women’s rights bodies too stepped in.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal said those involved in the incident will get the “harshest punishment”.

Punjab state women commission chairperson Manisha Gulati visited the university campus.

In a statement, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said its chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Punjab DGP to deal with the matter strictly and without any laxity. The victims must be given proper counselling and their safety and security must be ensured, the NCW said.

Opposition leaders, including Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, former chief minister Amarinder Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa demanded a free and fair probe and exemplary punishment for the guilty.