The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Monday (October 12) said that it expects Punjab police authorities to "take cognizance of the larger implication which arise out" of a violent incident that occurred at Lovely Professional University (LPU) on September 27 after rumour of rape and suicide of a student had spread on social media.

It said that it expects the police authorities to recognize the threats which the incident posed to public safety and security and larger national interest and take remedial measures forthwith to apprehend the culprit.

The court was hearing an LPU student's plea seeking transfer of the investigation into the violence on the university campus, which began on the night of September 26, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under the supervision of the High Court.

The Court had earlier sought a comprehensive status report in the case.

According to the petition, on the night of September 26, an unverified post on Reddit began circulating among LPU students, claiming that a worker had raped a girl student on campus, that the university had sent her home, and that she had subsequently died by suicide.

Acting on the post and on WhatsApp messages, around 2,000 students gathered outside hostel and at about 2:00 a.m., a section of them blocked National Highway 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar.

Today after perusing the status report the bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said,

"We expect the police authorities to immediately take cognizance of the larger implications which arise out of the incident and the threats which it poses to public safety and security and larger national interest and take remedial measures forthwith so as to apprehend the culprit."

The Court also added, “Why a non-existent event was shared on the social media with an intent to create unrest and cause damage to public order as also larger public interest is a matter of serious concern and has to be dealt with on priority,"

During the hearing, Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla submitted that the original social media post was already deleted on September 26, where as the incident took place on September 27.

"What troubles us that the incident took place on false narrative...what action have you taken?" CJ Mishra orally asked. Responding to the query the State submitted that it has appointed ADGP Cyber Crime to probe the issue and enlarged the scope of investigation.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Chopra pointed that there are still social media post appearing on googling about the issue, that needs to be taken down.

Noting that 3 police vehicles were torched, several police men were injured and damage of over 30 crore were done to public property and malls, the bench said the "steps fall short of expectation."

The Court added that before considering the prayer for transferring the investigation to an independent agency, it was giving another opportunity to the State police to examine the matter.

While adjourning the matter to Oct 27, the Court noted that the State will write to all social media platforms including google to take down any post relating to "non existent" issue.

The petition filed by the Student alleged that through the night of September 26-27 into the following morning, students and outsiders set several buildings on fire, broke doors, glass panels and turnstile gates, entered buildings, looted goods, and attacked staff members who tried to pacify the crowd.

The petitioner claims to have reliably learnt that a large number of outsiders, men and women mostly around 30 years of age, arrived at the campus, some in open cars and other vehicles. It is alleged that they carried walkie-talkies, brandished swords, rods, guns and sickles, and kept their faces covered to conceal their identity.

These persons, the petition states, forcibly broke open the university's main gates, destroyed or burnt CCTV cameras, computers, UPS units, LED screens, turnstile gates, boom barriers and security offices, attacked security guards, set several places on fire, and looted shops, laptops, mobile phones, bank branches and ATMs on campus.

While the petition states that some LPU hostellers and students living in PG accommodation outside campus were also involved, it asserts that the majority of those involved were outsiders. On this basis, the petitioner contends that the incident was not a spontaneous protest but a "well-planned and organised attack" controlled by persons or organisations in the background, with the intent of defaming the university and disturbing the atmosphere in Punjab.

The petition also refers to violence at Chitkara University, Rajpura, just a night earlier, which it says was set off by similar claims that two girl students had gone missing or died by suicide. In that case, both the university and the police stated that no such incident had occurred.