Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court may hear on Wednesday a public interest litigation seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the violence and vandalism at Lovely Professional University (LPU).
The petition, filed by a student, Ravi Raj, points to alleged political factors behind the incident. The petitioner stated that university founder Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal is a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab and joined the BJP after leaving the Aam Aadmi Party in April 2026. The petition also referred to the state Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
The matter is listed before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor.
According to the petition, a rumour spread among students on the night of September 26 that a university employee had allegedly raped a female student and that the university had sent the employee home. Around 2,000 students subsequently gathered outside the hostels and allegedly blocked the Phagwara-Jalandhar national highway at around 2am.
The petition alleges that students and outsiders set buildings on fire, damaged doors and windows and attacked staff members during the night.
It further alleges that several outsiders, reportedly around 30 years old, entered the campus with their faces covered and carrying weapons and walkie-talkies. According to the petition, they damaged CCTV cameras, computers, ATMs and shops and also carried out looting.
The petitioner has alleged that the violence was part of a pre-planned conspiracy aimed at defaming the university and disturbing the atmosphere in the state. The petition also referred to violence at Chitkara University following similar rumours.
The petition questioned why police, despite allegedly being aware of the gathering at around 1.45am, could not prevent the violence and vandalism for several hours.
It further alleged that police officials initially described the rape claim as a rumour but later registered an FIR against unidentified persons under rape and other provisions without any confirmation of the allegation.
