Citing political reasons, a Lovely Professional University (LPU) student has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking a CBI probe into the recent incidents of “violence, arson and vandalism”.Among other things, the student has pointed out that the university founder and Chancellor, Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal, is a sitting Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Punjab. “He left AAP, which governs the state, and joined the BJP in April this year, and the Assembly elections are due in early 2027,” the petitioner submitted.The petition, filed in public interest, is expected to be heard by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor.In his petition against the Union of India, among others, Ravi Raj submitted that on the night of September 26, an unverified post came into circulation among university students claiming that a worker had raped a girl student on the campus and the university had sent her home. The post suggested that the girl had subsequently died by suicide.“On the strength of that post and WhatsApp messages, about 2,000 students gathered outside the GH-3 hostel. At about 2 am, a section of them blocked the National Highway No. 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar. Through the night and into the next morning, students and outsiders set several buildings on fire, broke doors, glass and turnstile gates, entered buildings and looted goods and materials, and attacked the staff who tried to calm them. The violence has not stopped since,” he submitted.The petitioner added that he had reliably learnt that a large number of outsiders, including men and women, mostly in their 30s, arrived on the campus. Some of them were in “open vehicles”, carrying walkie-talkies and brandishing swords, rods, guns and sickles. They had their faces covered to conceal their identity.The petitioner alleged that they forcibly opened and broke the university’s main gates, leading to criminal trespass. They also indulged in vandalism, destroying and burning CCTV cameras, computers, UPS systems, LED screens, turnstile gates, boom barriers and security offices. They also attacked security guards, set several places on fire and looted shops, laptops, mobiles, bank branches and ATMs on the campus.“Some hostel inmates of the LPU and some students staying in PG accommodations outside the campus were also involved in the violence, but a majority of them were outsiders,” the petitioner submitted.He added that these were “clear marks” that the protest was not spontaneous, but a well-planned and organised attack controlled by some people or organisation in the background, with mala fide intent to defame the university and disturb the atmosphere in the state.“Only a night earlier, similar claims that two girl students had gone missing or had died by suicide triggered violence at Chitkara University, Rajpura, where the university and the police stated that no such incident had occurred. Such incidents of violence hurt the students of the university more than anyone else and, moreover, create an atmosphere of fear on the campus,” he addedThe petitioner contended that the police had information of the gathering at about 1.45 am. Yet, the blockade, the arson and the looting went on for hours, and no arrests were made against this vandalism. The police authorities had also given conflicting accounts of the claim.The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), in a statement issued to the media, said all allegations of rape and suicide were rumours. Even the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kapurthala, called the alleged incident a “rumour”.“Yet, later the same day, the police registered an FIR against unnamed accused under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, alleging the rape of an unnamed and unidentified girl victim at the GH-3 hostel without any evidence and verification,” he added.