- Published
One of India's largest private universities has suspended classes after an unverified allegation that a female student was raped on campus set off protests that descended into violence.
uncertain
that → publish → violence
Police say they have registered a case and are trying to verify whether last week's alleged rape at Lovely Professional University (LPU) did happen.
asserted
rape → say → University
The university has categorically denied the allegation.
asserted
university → deny → allegation
Police say no student has come forward to say she was assaulted, investigators have yet to identify the alleged victim or the perpetrator, and CCTV footage examined so far has yielded no evidence of an attack.
asserted
footage → say → attack
But rumours on student WhatsApp groups led to unrest over the weekend at the sprawling 600-acre university in Punjab that draws students from India and abroad.
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that → lead → India
Founded in 2005 by a family whose business began with a small sweet shop, LPU has grown into a largely self-contained world of hostels and lecture halls, with thousands of young people living on campus.
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thousands → found → campus
Images and videos showed vehicles in flames, crowds filling a major highway and police wielding canes as unrest spilled beyond the university gates. Police vehicles were damaged, officers injured and parts of the campus was vandalised.
By Monday, the highway had reopened and the campus was calmer, but heavily policed.
University authorities described the claims circulating on social media as false and baseless, but it did little to reassure students with hostels emptying within hours.
uncertain
hostels → show → hours
Key exams were postponed and students were allowed to go home.
asserted
students → postpone → ?
Following demands from protesting students, police registered a rape case against "an unidentified person" and formed a seven-member special investigation team, or SIT, to investigate.
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police → follow → team
What happened?
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What → happen → ?
The unrest began in the early hours of 27 September, when word spread that a female student had been raped in or near one of the university's hostels a few days earlier.
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student → begin → hostels
The suspect was variously described - by students and in media reports - as a plumber, painter or construction worker.
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suspect → describe → plumber
Some students said the assault had occurred on 23 September and accused the university of failing to act after being informed.
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assault → say → university
BBC Punjabi found that messages about the allegation had circulated through WhatsApp groups.
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messages → find → groups
As they travelled, crowds gathered.
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crowds → travel → ?
Hundreds eventually spilled on to National Highway 44, a major route between Delhi and Punjab, blocking traffic for more than 15 hours.
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Hundreds → spill → hours
By Sunday evening, university property had been damaged, objects set alight and stones thrown at police vehicles.
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stones → damage → vehicles
Videos showed police striking protesters with canes, although police later denied carrying out a baton-charge.
asserted
police → show → charge
Behind the gates, students described a night of fear.
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students → describe → fear
"We were sitting with knives and scissors," Arya, a student, told BBC Punjabi.
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Arya → sit → Punjabi
Students had been told to lock themselves inside their rooms, she said, while people knocked on their doors.
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people → tell → doors
"We were just thinking that somehow this night would pass and we would get out of here."
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we → think → ?
Police later arrived and made them feel safer, she said.
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she → arrive → ?
By the next day, she wanted to leave.
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she → want → day
"Our parents also want us to just get out of here.
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us → want → ?
"
So why have police lodged a case?
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police → lodge → case
That the police open a case and investigate the allegation was among the protesters' central demands.
"The students have been demanding that an FIR [First Information Report] is to be registered, but the students could not provide us with any victim's name," senior police official Naveen Singla told the BBC.
uncertain
Singla → open → BBC
Police nevertheless registered an FIR under India's rape law against an unidentified person.
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Police → register → person
An FIR formally records an allegation for investigation; it does not establish that a crime occurred.
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crime → record → investigation
Singla said investigators had also begun examining CCTV footage.
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investigators → say → footage
The preliminary search, he told the BBC, had so far shown no outsider entering a room.
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outsider → tell → room
"As of now, it can't be verified that rape has happened or not," he said.
But they are continuing to examine the footage.
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they → verify → footage
"The campus is quite large, so we haven't been able to see all the cameras yet," Sinha told reporters on Monday.
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Sinha → see → Monday
"We have initially checked the places that the students had mentioned, but we will get to the bottom of this.
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we → check → this
"
Why did the protests grow so large?
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protests → grow → ?
It is difficult to say.
asserted
It → say → ?
What began with an allegation of rape quickly became a broader protest over security, the university's response and, eventually, the violence itself.
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began → begin → security
There was also growing uncertainty over who was on the campus.
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who → be → campus
Some students insisted the demonstrations had begun peacefully and blamed outsiders for at least some of the violence.
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demonstrations → insist → violence
Others told BBC Punjabi of seeing masked or unfamiliar people inside the university.
asserted
Others → tell → university
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
