Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the recent violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar district has been filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The petition was mentioned for urgent hearing on Tuesday before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor, which agreed to hear the matter on Wednesday.
Senior advocate Gaurav Chopra, appearing for the petitioner along with advocate Arjun Sheoran, told the court that the violence on the university campus allegedly involved rioting, arson, vandalism and looting. The petition has sought immediate intervention by the High Court and an independent investigation into the entire episode.
The unrest erupted on September 26-27 following reports and social media claims about the alleged rape of a female student on the campus. Police registered a criminal case to investigate the allegation and subsequently constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT). However, the alleged sexual assault has not been conclusively established so far, while the university has denied the claim.
The petition alleges that large-scale damage was caused to property during the violence, with reports of shops being vandalised and incidents of looting and arson. The petitioner has sought a CBI probe to ensure an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence.
The protests continued for around 22 hours on September 26 and 27, with the situation escalating into vandalism, arson and clashes. The Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway was blocked for around 18 hours, causing major disruption to traffic.
Following the violence, LPU suspended classes and other academic activities for 10 days from September 28, while examinations were also postponed.
The High Court's Wednesday hearing is expected to consider the plea seeking an independent CBI investigation into the violence and the events that led to it.
