Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara has suspended all academic activities and postponed mid-term examinations for 10 days following intense campus unrest and acts of vandalism over the weekend.
The protests, which began on Saturday over allegations surrounding the reported assault and suicide of a female student, spiraled into major disruptions on Sunday night. Reports from the ground detailed instances of police vehicles being set on fire, damage to academic blocks, and localized explosions within the university grounds.
Public attention intensified after Cockroach Janata Party leader Abhijeet Dipke shared a video on social media showing a female student describing frightening security lapses. According to the clip, male individuals armed with knives allegedly entered the girls’ hostel premises during the height of the unrest, forcing students to lock themselves in their rooms.
Commenting on the video, Dipke posted on X: “A university campus should be one of the safest places for a woman. If women don’t feel safe even inside their hostels, we have a serious problem. It’s 2026. Women should not have to protest, plead or fight for something as basic as their safety.”
In response to the volatile conditions, the university administration officially shut down lectures and deferred scheduled exams to restore calm:
- Mass Departure: Hundreds of students were seen leaving the Phagwara campus for their respective home states, accompanied by heightened police deployment surrounding the gates.
- Campus Advisory: For students remaining on campus, the university issued an advisory urging them to remain indoors, avoid gathering near damaged sites, and strictly refrain from engaging in ongoing unrest.
- Property Damage: Student accounts indicated that primary academic blocks, including the main Computer Science building, suffered structural damage during Sunday night’s chaos.
Local police and university officials state that while the campus grounds returned to a tense calm by Monday morning, heavy security forces remain stationed to ensure order.
