Phagwara, Sep 28 (PTI) Traffic movement on the National Highway-44 in Punjab's Phagwara, which had been blocked by the protesting students from Lovely Professional University for over 15 hours, has been restored, police said on Monday, adding that the situation has been brought under control. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann directed DGP Gaurav Yadav to visit the university and take stock of situation, according to official sources.

Students of Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara allegedly went on a rampage on the campus on Sunday, vandalising property and blocking a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside their campus over claims that an outsider had raped a female student on the university premises. Referring to the protests, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu accused the AAP government in the state of sending miscreants to LPU ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally on September 30 in Jalandhar.  The university sits right on the highway connecting Jalandhar and Phagwara.

He alleged that the AAP is "rattled" by the massive support of people to the BJP's anti-drug yatras, while blaming the Bhagwant Mann government for "allowing riots" in Jalandhar to disturb the scheduled rally. He further claimed that police adopted a "lax" approach, eventually allowing miscreants to start arson and vandalism, leaving police personnel and students injured. "@BhagwantMann, @ArvindKejriwal and @msisodia allegedly sent miscreants in LPU just to settle scores! After Sh. Ashok Mittal left AAP, the party allegedly hatched a sinister plan to force LPU to shut down," Bittu alleged in a post on X late Sunday night.  Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal is the founder chancellor of LPU.

"Amit shah ji's rally is also set to take place in Jalandhar on September 30, and the government knows the attendance will be in lakhs. AAP is rattled by support BJP is receiving from people of Punjab and is allowing riots in Jalandhar to disturb the rally," Bittu alleged. He said the central government is monitoring the situation closely. "Only a few months remain. The government is set to change, and officials will have to be held accountable," the former minister said.

The traffic movement on the national highway resumed in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, Jalandhar Police Commissioner Satinder Singh said, adding that the situation was peaceful.A police force remained deployed outside the LPU on Monday morning. Several students could be seen leaving the campus for their homes after LPU authorities suspended classes for 10 days starting Monday. Midterm examinations have also been postponed until further notice. The LPU also allowed students to go home during this period, if they wish to do so and after consulting their parents or guardians.

Students who stay back are advised to stay inside their hostels/places of residence and avoid unnecessary movement or involvement in any "unrest activities" in the interest of their own safety, the university said. Another wave of violence during the day erupted in the evening after the protesting students pelted stones at police personnel and attacked their vehicles, leaving several cops injured on Sunday, officials said. A heavy force led by ADGP M F Farooqui entered the campus late Sunday night, and a flag march, consisting of senior officers and other personnel, was taken out. Jalandhar Police Commissioner Satinder Singh, DIG (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla and Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora were among the officers who accompanied the force.

On Sunday evening, police were trying to evict the protesters blocking NH-44 outside the campus since 8 am, when some students allegedly threw water bottles at them. They also clashed with police, who resorted to lathi charge, prompting the students to run towards the campus, according to police. However, once inside, the students allegedly started to indiscriminately pelt stones at the police, the officials said. Police on Sunday said a rape case was registered against an unknown person on a complaint by the students, and an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter, even though the university described the claims of the crime taking place on the campus as "rumours".

The violence on LPU campus came a day after students of Chitkara University in Patiala allegedly set a police vehicle afire over unverified claims that two female students had committed suicide on the university premises. Viral videos on social media also showed the protesters, purportedly students, damaging window panes and flower pots on campus, and setting some objects on fire, with cries of "we want justice" echoing in the background.

/Agencies