The protests at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, which began over allegations concerning a female student, escalated into violence on September 27, with students blocking the National Highway outside the university and clashes later taking place between protesters and police. The highway was blocked for more than 15 hours before traffic movement was restored, according to police.
LPU subsequently suspended regular classes for 10 days from September 28 and postponed its mid-term examinations. The university has denied that the alleged sexual assault took place on its campus and described the claims circulating around the incident as rumours. Meanwhile, police have registered a separate case relating to the alleged assault and formed a Special Investigation Team to investigate those allegations.
Now, a four-page FIR registered at Sadar Phagwara police station provides more specific details about the National Highway blockade and the legal action taken over it.
According to the FIR, police received information about the closure of the National Highway near LPU by university students. It alleges that the highway was blocked in both directions, towards Delhi and Amritsar.
The FIR says a police team reached the spot after receiving the information and found a large crowd present on both sides of the highway. According to the police account recorded in the FIR, students were sitting on the road and had completely blocked the highway.
Police officials allegedly tried repeatedly to persuade the protesters to clear the road. The FIR states that the students did not agree to open the highway.
It also refers to unidentified non-students being present along with the students. The FIR describes some of these unidentified people as “mischievous elements”.
As the blockade continued, the FIR alleges that traffic from both directions came to a complete halt. It states that normal movement of vehicles was disrupted and that the blockade affected the general public and normal public life.
The FIR therefore focuses specifically on the alleged obstruction of the National Highway and the resulting disruption to public movement.
One of the key details in the FIR is that no individual has been named as an accused at the time of registration.
The accused column records “Unknown 1”. The narrative also refers to unidentified students and unidentified non-students.
The FIR states that the incident was videographed separately. According to the document, the footage would be used to identify the people involved, after which appropriate legal action would be taken against those identified.
This means the FIR, by itself, does not establish that any particular LPU student has been named or booked in this case.
The case has been registered under Section 285 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 8B of the National Highways Act, 1956.
Section 285 of the BNS deals with causing danger, obstruction or injury to a person in a public way or public line of navigation. The provision carries a fine of up to Rs 5,000.
Section 8B of the National Highways Act deals with acts that render a National Highway impassable or less safe for travelling or transporting property. The provision, in the version applicable to the FIR, provides for imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine, or both.
The FIR's allegation under these provisions is based on the claimed blocking of the highway and the resulting stoppage of traffic.
Importantly, the FIR does not record an allegation of physical damage to the highway itself. Its factual account says the road was made impassable because people were blocking it.
The highway blockade was part of a much larger protest at LPU that began on September 27. Reports from the time said students gathered on campus following allegations of sexual assault involving a female student. The protest later spread outside the campus, with the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway being blocked.
The situation subsequently turned violent, with reports of clashes between protesters and police, damage to property and vehicles, and police deployment on the campus. Police later said the highway had been reopened and the situation was under control.
The university suspended classes as the unrest continued, while the underlying allegations that triggered the protests remained under investigation.
The FIR records that investigation has been taken up by ASI Rohit Deep. The police have also recorded that videography of the blockade was conducted.
The immediate next step in this particular case is therefore identification of those allegedly involved in blocking the highway. The FIR does not say that arrests have already been made in this case.
The document also does not name a student leader, identify anyone as the organiser of the blockade, or attribute the highway blockade to LPU as an institution.
For now, the FIR establishes that police have registered a case over the alleged National Highway blockade, but the identities of the people who may ultimately face action in that case are yet to be established through the investigation.
