Student Unrest Erupts in Two Private Universities Over Unverified Claims

September

2026

On 26–27 Sep, protests broke out at two private universities in Panjab—Chitkara University (CU), Rajpura and Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara—over disturbing claims involving female students. At both campuses, accounts of alleged rapes and deaths/suicide spread rapidly on social media. At CU, the story grew from a series of seemingly disconnected events: screams reportedly heard from a girls’ hostel, ambulances seen on campus, and a story about a supposedly haunted hostel room. Online, these fragments became a much more serious claim—that two female students were missing and the university was concealing their deaths. At LPU, online posts alleged that a female student had been raped on campus by a construction worker and the authorities had sent her home, where she died by suicide. By the time police and university officials responded, hundreds of students were already demanding answers. Students at CU started leaving campus. Students at LPU then blocked the Delhi–Amritsar National Highway. They also allegedly vandalized the university property. After that, outsiders entered LPU and looted shops, set fires, and destroyed property. At CU, police say they have found no evidence of a death or missing student. At LPU, the police have registered a First Information Report and constituted a Special Investigation Team to investigate the rape and suicide. In December 2019, a call from CU to the police alleged that a female student had died by suicide after being sexually assaulted. Students protested amid allegations that the university was covering up the incident. In September 2022, Chandigarh University in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar erupted in protest after allegations emerged that a female student had filmed other women in a hostel washroom. CU and LPU are both a quarter century old and mostly cater to pan-Indian and international students. CU's student strength in Panjab—it also has a branch in Himachal Pradesh—was 23K in 2025–26, of which 20% of students were from Panjab. LPU's student strength was 36K in 2025–26, of which 8.8% of students were from Panjab. CU is owned by Ashok and Madhu Chitkara, LPU is owned by Ashok Kumar Mittal, the Aam Aadmi Party Member of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in April 2026 (earlier coverage).