LPU Violence: 4 FIRs Registered, 3 Accused Sent to Police Remand

Police in Phagwara have registered four first information reports (FIRs) in connection with the violent unrest at Lovely Professional University (LPU) on September 27 and 28, and a local court has granted three days' police remand for three accused, including an LPU student. Police said they are examining evidence and the alleged roles of those named in the cases as the investigation widens.

Three sent to police remand

The three accused — identified as James Dahiya, an LPU student from Sonipat; and Gagan and Kamal, both of Phagwara — were produced before a local court, which remanded them to police custody for three days, The Tribune reported. Investigators are expected to question them about their alleged involvement in the vandalism and clashes that followed the protests on campus and on the national highway.

The remand order came days after the unrest, which began in the early hours of September 27 when a large number of students gathered near the girls' hostel and then spilled onto the Jalandhar–Phagwara stretch of National Highway-44, blocking it for several hours. University property was damaged, shops in the campus Uni Mall were reportedly vandalised, police vehicles were set on fire, and clashes broke out between protesters and police.

Four FIRs, two SITs

The four cases cover the alleged vandalism, property damage, obstruction and violence linked to the two days of unrest. Separately, police registered an FIR under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against an unidentified person on the complaint submitted by protesting students. Charges reported in the violence-related cases include attempt to murder, robbery and assault or obstruction of police personnel.

Two separate Special Investigation Teams (SITs), both headed by SP (Phagwara) Major Singh, are looking into the episode. One team — comprising DSP Palwinder Singh, a woman inspector and student representatives — is investigating the alleged sexual-assault claim that triggered the protests. The second, an eight-member team including three SP-rank officers, is probing the violence, arson, attacks on police, alleged robbery and vandalism.

Unverified claims, campus denied them

The protests were triggered by unverified claims that circulated on social media — including a post on Reddit dated September 26 — alleging that a female student had been sexually assaulted on campus. LPU firmly denied that any such incident had occurred, and Chancellor Ashok Kumar Mittal described the vandalism as the result of a 'highly organised conspiracy' by malicious elements to spread anarchy and destabilise Punjab. Police said they would examine CCTV footage, forensic evidence and call records before reaching any conclusion, and that preliminary inquiries had not substantiated the allegation at the location identified by the students.

Court hearing on October 8

The episode has also reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where a public interest litigation filed by LPU student Ravi Raj has sought a CBI probe into the violence. The court has directed the state government to submit a status report and clarify whether the alleged sexual assault took place, with the next hearing listed for October 8. LPU has suspended academic activities for ten days and postponed examinations while the damage is assessed. The unrest has raised sharp questions about campus security, the speed at which unverified online claims can trigger large-scale disorder, and the university's response.