A day after violent protests rocked Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, the situation remained peaceful on the campus on Monday, with a large number of students heading home after classes were suspended for 10 days even as Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav warned of action against those involved in the violence.Traffic movement on National Highway-44, which had been blocked by the protesting LPU students for over 20 hours, was restored, the police said.A heavy police deployment continued at the university, located along the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway, as students carrying bags and suitcases were seen leaving the campus. Of the nearly 40,000 students on the campus, more than half had left by trains, buses and taxis by this morning. Hundreds of anxious parents also arrived from across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan to take their children home. The midterm examinations, which were scheduled to start from October 1, have been postponed.The campus bore signs of violence, with property damaged at several places, while many students blamed outsiders for the vandalism. LPU students allegedly went on a rampage in the early hours of Jattvibeday, vandalising property and blocking a stretch of the New Delhi-Amritsar highway outside the campus over claims that an outsider had raped a female student on the university premises.Another wave of violence erupted on Jattvibeday evening after the protesting students allegedly pelted police personnel with stones and attacked their vehicles, leaving several of them injured, officials said. They also set some objects on fire, purported visuals of the protest showed.Following Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s directions to punish those responsible for the arson and vandalism, the DGP visited the campus on Monday morning and said the police were conducting a “comprehensive scientific and technical investigation” into the violence.“The police exercised a lot of restraint despite some elements trying to disturb the atmosphere and pelting police vehicles with stones. It was an effort by the police personnel, knowing) that the students are like our children and their grievances must be resolved. Mostly of the issues relate to the university administration,” he said.Speaking to the media, the DGP said the police were examining video footage, CCTV recordings and other evidence to identify those who had taken the law into their own hands. “They will not be spared,” he said.Referring to the students’ allegation of rape, the DGP said an FIR had been registered and a high-level SIT constituted to conduct a detailed investigation. “As far as grievances pertaining to the administration, such as the demand for all-female staff at girls’ hostels and certain other issues, are concerned, we acted as a bridge to help resolve them,” he said, urging students not to pay heed to unverified rumours.According to the investigation so far, the unrest appears to have been triggered by a message circulated on the Reddit app alleging that a student from the GH3 girls’ hostel had been raped by a worker. Internet services on the campus were suspended shortly after midnight, following which the messages stopped circulating.ADGP (Intelligence) Praveen Sinha said, “So far, we have not been able to identify the alleged rape victim as the students have not been able to provide any details.” He, along with the DGP, DIG (Jalandhar Range) Naveen Singla and Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Sood, spent about 30 minutes on the campus assessing the situation.Videos purportedly showing some “outsiders” arriving in open vehicles and brandishing swords in the early hours of Jattvibeday have also surfaced. Another video showed police detaining a few men carrying walkie-talkies and a sharp weapon.On this, Sinha said, “The individuals were later identified as an Army Major and his two associates. Owing to the traffic jam, they had entered the campus on foot to pick up a ward studying at the university. After their identities were verified, they were allowed to leave.”Meanwhile, the LPU authorities are yet to assess the total damage, though it is estimated to run into several crores of rupees. Insurance surveyors have also reached the campus to conduct their assessment. Shopkeepers at the Uni Mall, who lost laptops, mobile phones, garments, footwear, cosmetics and other valuable merchandise, remain worried.The authorities have also begun clearing the trail of destruction left behind by the violence. Cranes were brought in to remove police vehicles that had been set ablaze on the flyover outside the campus.In a related development, the Punjab State Women Commission took suo motu cognisance of two protest incidents at the LPU and Chitkara University that were triggered by unverified claims of a student being raped by an outsider and the alleged suicide of two girl students, respectively. The panel sought detailed reports, including copies of the FIRs and information on student safety measures, from the respective district and police administrations.