Students distinguish protest for justice from later violence
A group of students at Lovely Professional University (LPU) has claimed that the initial protest seeking justice for the girl at the centre of the controversy remained largely peaceful and lasted for around 20 minutes before the situation escalated.
According to the students, the nature of the protest changed after the university's main gates were allegedly broken open and outsiders, locals and unidentified masked men entered the campus.
The students said the people who entered the premises subsequently began vandalising buildings and property, and maintained that the widespread destruction seen later was not representative of the original student protest.
Students say highway protest was initially peaceful
The students also claimed that, before the situation escalated, they had taken their demand for justice and answers to the highway. They said students blocked the NH and sat on the road while seeking answers from the university and authorities.
According to the students, the protest on the highway remained largely peaceful. They maintained that the situation changed only after miscreants allegedly entered the campus, following which vandalism and destruction began.
The students said the distinction between the initial protest and the subsequent violence was important, claiming that the original demonstration was focused on seeking justice and answers, while the widespread vandalism that followed was triggered after unidentified people entered the university premises.
Human chain formed to protect library
The students also alleged that the group involved in the vandalism attempted to set the university library on fire.
However, they claimed that students intervened and formed a human chain around the library, preventing the fire from spreading and stopping the building from being targeted further.
The account, they said, was an indication that a section of students was attempting to protect university property even as violence and vandalism were unfolding elsewhere on the campus.
University mall targeted, shops broken into
The students further alleged that the university mall was extensively targeted during the violence, with shutters of shops being broken and glass windows smashed.
They said almost no shop was spared, particularly outlets selling laptops and other essential items.
According to their account, the initial breaking of shutters and glass was allegedly carried out by the group that had entered the premises, followed by instances of looting. Some students later joined the looting, they claimed.
Security checks carried out, looted items recovered
The students said that those students who were subsequently found to have participated in the looting were subjected to security checks.
They claimed that belongings allegedly taken from the shops were recovered during these checks and subsequently kept with security personnel.
The students stressed that the events that unfolded after the gates were breached should not automatically be attributed to the entire student community, arguing that the original protest and the subsequent vandalism were two different phases of the incident.
Reports of blasts near hostels
The students also described hearing several blasts inside the university campus and in areas near the hostels during the escalation.
The students' account comes amid continuing tension on the LPU campus, where protests, vandalism and clashes have triggered a major police and administrative response. Further investigation will be crucial in establishing who entered the campus after the gates were breached, who participated in the vandalism and whether outsiders were involved.
