Fresh videos deepen questions over LPU rape allegation; student says she is safe

Neeraj Bali

Chandigarh, Sep 30 (UNI) Two videos circulating online have added a fresh dimension to the controversy over an alleged rape at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab, with protesting students pointing to CCTV footage they say shows two people approaching a hostel room with a warden, while a female student has separately said she is safe and no untoward incident happened to her.

The developments come as police investigate allegations that triggered violent protests at the university over the weekend, leading to vandalism, arson and the blockade of the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway. Police have registered a case against an unidentified person under rape provisions and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations.

The allegation itself has not been established, and the investigation remains underway. One CCTV clip circulating on social media appears to show a woman accompanied by two people wearing yellow jackets walking through a hostel area. Protesting students have claimed the woman is a hostel warden and that the two people were heading towards the room where they allege the sexual assault took place. Police and university authorities have not publicly verified that interpretation of the footage or established that the people shown in it had any connection with the alleged incident.

Students have also alleged that the woman at the centre of the original claim complained to hostel authorities and was subsequently sent home. Those claims have also not been independently established. A second video circulating on Tuesday shows a young woman identifying herself as a first-year student and saying that she is safe. "The rumours being spread about me are completely false. I am absolutely safe and no untoward incident has happened to me," the student says in the video. She said the unrest on campus had frightened her. "As a first-year student, I panicked after seeing the protests and left with my relatives to be with my family at home," she said.

The identity of the student and whether she is the same person referred to in the allegations that sparked the protests have not been independently established. The competing claims are now among the material being examined by police as investigators seek to determine what happened inside the university campus and whether the viral videos are connected to the allegations. Kapurthala police had initially said they had received no direct complaint supporting claims circulating on social media about a sexual assault.

Police subsequently registered an FIR against an unidentified person and formed an SIT after the allegations and protests escalated. Punjab Police Chief Gaurav Yadav visited the university after the violence and said police were conducting a "scientific and technical" investigation into the events surrounding the unrest. Police have also said action would be taken against those responsible for violence and damage to property. The controversy has been complicated further by disputes over earlier videos released after the allegations surfaced.

Three female students who had appeared in an earlier video denying that a rape had occurred later alleged that they had been instructed by university authorities about what to say and that their statements had been edited and posted without their consent. "[The LPU administration] told us to record all this and say it for them," one of the students said in a subsequent video, according to media reports. LPU has maintained that allegations of a rape on campus were false and baseless.

The university suspended classes for 10 days and postponed mid-term examinations following the unrest. Students were allowed to leave the campus, while a heavy police deployment was made after protesters damaged property and vehicles and blocked the national highway. Police have not yet publicly identified the people visible in the newly circulated CCTV footage or established whether the footage has any connection with the alleged sexual assault. The SIT investigation is continuing.

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