In LPU violence case, police make first arrests: three students, a pizza delivery worker

Of the five presented in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Harshvir Singh Sandhu, one was identified as James Dahiya, an LPU student from Sonipat in Haryana. He is also a social media influencer. The two others are Gagan and Kamal, both residents of Phagwara.

According to Gagan’s family, he had been working as a delivery worker with Domino’s Pizza for about one-and-a-half months.

Gagan’s maternal uncle said the family initially did not know why he had been taken into custody. “He had been missing since Wednesday, and we came to know about his arrest only when he called before being produced in court,” he said, adding that Gagan had no previous criminal case.

The arrests come a day after LPU’s founder-chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal described the September 27-28 violence and mayhem as a threat to public security, saying such incidents also put the business community at risk.

The Phagwara police have registered four separate FIRs. The first one, (FIR No. 162) was registered on September 27 under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with the vandalism on the campus. The next day, another FIR (No. 163) was registered at Satnampura police station under Sections 326(g), 324(4) and 309(4) of the BNS, along with Section 4 of the Punjab Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, against unidentified persons over the alleged looting and rampage at Uni Mall. Police have now identified 40 persons out of which 20 have been named in the FIR.

Two more FIRs (No. 105 and 106) were registered on September 28 at Sadar police station — the first one under Section 285 of the BNS and Section 8B of the National Highways Act, 1956, against unidentified persons; and the second under Sections 109, 132, 221, 326(b), 326(g) and 324(5) of the BNS against unidentified persons for allegedly setting on fire police vehicles.

“During investigation specific individuals have been identified and named in the FIRs. Those under scrutiny include a LPU student who is also a social-media influencer and whose name has been named in the FIR 163,” a police officer, part of the investigating team, said.

The student, whop is in final year of BBA, was accused of provoking students through social media and of being involved in the ransacking of the Dean of Student Welfare (DSW) office. He has denied the allegations.

The original sexual-assault allegation is also under investigation. A student who was linked to the claim on social media subsequently appeared in a video saying she was safe and that no such incident had happened to her. Police have also been examining social-media material, including content described by authorities as misleading or fabricated.

On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court sought a detailed status report from the Punjab government and police on the episode, including the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault and the violence that followed. The matter is listed for hearing on October 8.

LPU suspended regular classes following the unrest and postponed its mid-semester examinations, allowing students to return home.