Rizky Amelia
Lovely Professional University, a large private institution in the Punjab town of Phagwara, announced on Monday that it would halt all classes for ten days and postpone midterm examinations, following a weekend of unrest triggered by allegations that a female student had been raped on campus. The university's administration said the pause was necessary to restore calm after demonstrations spiralled into clashes with police and reports of vandalism inside the grounds.
In a statement issued to students, the university said those who wished to do so could return to their hometowns during the suspension after consulting their parents or guardians. Those who remained on campus were urged to stay within their hostels or residences and to avoid unnecessary movement or any involvement in unrest-related activities, with officials framing the guidance as a precaution for student safety.
The controversy centres on claims circulating on social media that a female student was sexually assaulted at the university. Some online posts went further, asserting that the student had taken her own life. Police said they were investigating the alleged incident, but noted that the identity of the student had not been established, according to the news magazine India Today.
University registrar Monica Gulati publicly rejected the allegations on Sunday, telling reporters there was "no truth" to them. She argued that the way the claims were being spread suggested a deliberate and coordinated effort to damage the institution's reputation and image, remarks carried by The Times of India, the country's largest English-language newspaper.
The dispute over the facts intensified after three female students who lived in the same building where the alleged assault was said to have occurred appeared in a video alongside Gulati, supporting her denial that any rape had taken place. However, the television news channel NDTV later reported that a second video had surfaced in which the same three students said they had been coached on what to say, a development that has deepened public scepticism about the university's account.
Tensions had been building for days before the announcement. On Sunday, protests escalated sharply as demonstrators clashed with police, and local media reported acts of vandalism within the university. According to those reports, protesters threw stones, smashed windows and set vehicles on fire on campus, also damaging police vehicles. Students were said to have blocked a nearby highway, disrupting traffic in the area.
The unrest reflects a broader pattern of anger over sexual violence in India, where high-profile cases have repeatedly sparked nationwide protests and demands for reform. The same day the university suspended classes, the Supreme Court pushed for accountability over a recent cluster of rape cases in the national capital and neighbouring districts, describing them as evidence of a "failure of law enforcement."
That judicial intervention followed protests in Delhi last week, where hundreds of students took to the streets to demand better safety for women after a teenager said she was raped by three men in a city park. The case echoed earlier tragedies that galvanised public opinion, including the 2012 gang rape and killing of a student on a moving bus in the capital, which led to sweeping changes in sexual assault law but has not eliminated the underlying problem.
Concerns have also been raised about another recent case in which a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a moving bus by the driver and conductor last month, according to local media reports. The recurrence of such incidents on public transport has renewed questions about whether safety measures introduced after earlier reforms are being enforced.
Official statistics underline the scale of the challenge. More than 80 rapes are reported to police across India every day, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Activists caution that the true figure is likely far higher, since many victims never come forward because of social stigma, fear of reprisals or coercion by those around them.
For Lovely Professional University, the coming days will test whether a ten-day shutdown can lower tensions and allow an investigation to proceed credibly. The competing narratives — a denial by administrators and a claim by students that their statements were scripted — have left many on campus and online unconvinced by either side, and police have yet to establish even the identity of the student at the centre of the case.
The episode also raises difficult questions about how institutions respond when allegations of sexual violence surface. A swift public denial may protect a university's reputation in the short term, but it can also intensify suspicion and unrest if it is not matched by transparency, independent inquiry and support for the complainant and witnesses.
For students, the immediate priority is safety and clarity. The university's instruction that those who stay should remain in their hostels and avoid involvement in unrest-related activities indicates administrators expect tensions to persist during the suspension, even as they present the break as a measure to protect the campus community.
Whether the pause succeeds in defusing the situation may depend less on the length of the closure than on the credibility of the investigations now under way and on whether authorities can address the wider climate of impunity that activists say allows sexual violence to continue across the country.
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