Jalandhar: Phagwara police have arrested five suspects in connection with the violence and arson at Lovely Professional University over Saturday and Sunday during a protest by students over allegations of a ‘rape and suicide’ in a girls’ hostel.Three of the accused were produced in a local court, which remanded them in police custody for three days. Police officials remained tight-lipped over the arrests and have not disclosed any details.An SIT is investigating the allegation of rape-suicide and the events that followed. Protests erupted late Saturday night after social media rumours that a female student had been raped in her hostel room and died by suicide. A section of the protestors went on a rampage on campus, looting shops and smashing fixtures. They blocked NH-44 between Jalandhar and Phagwara for over 20 hours and torched three vehicles. Police then registered an FIR on the rape allegation.LPU had refuted the allegations of ‘rape and suicide’ and termed them ‘false and fabricated’. On Monday, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav visited the university and praised police for controlling the situation with a “restrained approach towards the students”. He warned that those who resorted to vandalism and arson would be brought to book.
