Punjab Campus Protests: What Is Known at LPU and Chitkara University
Protests at two private universities in Punjab have left damaged property, interrupted classes and worried students seeking answers. The events at Chitkara University near Rajpura and Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara are documented. The claims about female students that helped bring crowds together must be treated separately: police have not substantiated them.
Chitkara’s unrest began first, on the night of September 25, 2026. LPU’s followed overnight on September 26–27. Both involved messages circulating among students, but authorities have not established that the incidents were connected.
What happened at Chitkara University
Students gathered at Chitkara after messages claimed that two female students were missing or had died by suicide. They sought answers from university officials and asked to see security-camera footage. The gathering escalated overnight; police vehicles and university property were damaged. Patiala police recorded the incident in a daily diary report and said, as of September 28, that no first information report had been filed over the unrest.
Police said their checks found no missing students or suicides matching the circulating claims. Officers also said students who raised the alarm had not supplied names or other identifying details for the students said to be missing. Chitkara University likewise denied that a student had died on campus.
Several earlier events became part of the speculation. Police said unsettling sounds played in a girls’ hostel appeared to be a prank. The university gave explanations for an ambulance visit and a priest’s visit that students had questioned; it said neither indicated a death or disappearance. Those explanations are official accounts, not evidence that every student concern about communication or hostel safety has been resolved.
Chitkara suspended regular classes from September 28 through October 4, with classes scheduled to resume October 5. Some students leaving campus said they still wanted fuller explanations. The Punjab State Women’s Commission sought a report from local authorities on the circulating claims, complaints received and campus security arrangements.
What happened at LPU
At LPU, a message alleged that a female student had been sexually assaulted in a girls’ hostel and, according to versions circulated online, later died by suicide. Students gathered to demand an investigation and stronger hostel security. Parts of the protest descended into vandalism and fires, and demonstrators blocked a section of National Highway 44 near the university. Police and students clashed as authorities worked to clear the road.
LPU denied the assault-and-suicide account and said false information was circulating. Punjab police have not identified the student described in the allegation or confirmed that the alleged assault or death occurred. Police did, however, register a sexual-assault case against an unidentified person and form a special investigation team. Registering a case permits an investigation; it does not establish that the allegation is true.
Punjab police chief Gaurav Yadav said officers were examining digital and forensic material concerning both the underlying claim and the violence. Police also said they were reviewing footage to identify people responsible for property damage. Accounts of who started particular confrontations, and claims that outsiders orchestrated the unrest, remain matters for investigation rather than established findings.
LPU suspended regular classes for 10 days beginning September 28 and postponed midterm examinations. Police reported a calmer situation on September 28 as students began leaving campus. Students’ requests for better hostel safeguards remain distinct from whether the specific assault claim can be verified.
What remains unresolved
The two investigations are at different stages. At Chitkara, police and university officials say checks have not supported the missing-student or death claims. At LPU, an investigation into the reported assault is open, but authorities have not established the identity of a victim or verified the circulating account. In neither case should a social-media post, an ambulance visit or footage of a protest be presented as proof of the claim that preceded it.
The protests and disruption are real; the most serious claims that circulated around them are unverified. Further findings from police, the universities and the Women’s Commission may clarify what happened, how students’ concerns were handled and who was responsible for the violence.
