The Punjab government has told the Punjab and Haryana high court that investigation into the alleged incident of rape that sparked arson and violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara last month has not been confirmed so far.

The government further told the court that the person, who posted about the rumours of rape on social media, has been identified but that person reported that they heard it from others.

The government response came on a PIL filed by Ravi Raj, a BTech student at LPU, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the violence, arson and looting that broke out at LPU following the alleged rape rumour on September 26.

The rumour allegedly first appeared on social media platform Reddit through a post that claimed a girl student had been raped on the campus and sent home. This prompted hundreds of students to protest outside the girls’ hostel and block the Amritsar-Delhi National Highway-44.

The government counsel informed the court that 15 arrests had been made that included some students and outsiders as well. Further, investigation into the episode is underway. A report was also submitted in a sealed cover.

During the hearing, the court enquired from the counsel whether there was some common link between the similar rumours reported in Chitkara University, Rajpura, reported days before the LPU incident. However, the counsel feigned ignorance.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on October 12 and orally said police should investigate this aspect. The court also observed that the PIL should not be taken as an adversarial litigation and Centre, state and other stakeholders should come up with measures so that such incidents were not reported in future.

The court also stressed that effective mechanisms should be put in place, especially with regard to social media. Detailed order of the proceedings is awaited.