The alleged rape of a student at Girls Hostel 3 (GH3) of Lovely Professional University triggered unprecedented anger among students, who laid siege to the campus premises last night with protests and highway jams that continued until this afternoon.In viral videos shot on the campus of the university, vandalism can be seen at an unprecedented scale.In videos from last night, a huge crowd of students can be seen gathered outside Girls Hostel 4. Students broke window panes, vandalised campus property, broke road fixtures, pots, glass windows etc with lathis. They also set afire campus property at certain places.During vandalism at the LPU, students had also set afire campus property at certain places.Videos emerging this morning showed that glass windows of even the upper floors were not spared. The damage to the campus gates, too, was massive as, students climbed atop tanks and fixtures, demanding action.In viral videos, speaking to media, students of Lovely Professional University claimed that an worker from outside — a painter or a plumber — had allegedly raped the girl.However, the students also said that they didn’t have any information about who the girl was.A student, speaking to mediapersons, said, “Initially, students of every hostel, both girls and boys, held a peaceful protest on the campus. Things escalated when we felt that our grievances weren’t heard.”A girl student said, “There is unprecedented security on campus and usually even male and female friends sitting together are questioned. So our question is how come an outsider raped a student of a hostel. Painters, plumbers or other such workers shouldn’t be allowed to be on the campus or near girls’ hostels at night.”After once having being pacified, students held a protest on the highway again this afternoon demanding that a copy of the FIR be shared with them.While students initially also expressed resentment about the police’s behaviour at night, they were pacified this morning as the DIG, Jalandhar Range, himself visited the campus and assured students of strict action in the case.DIG Naveen Singla, while speaking to the media, said, “At 2 am, LPU students blocked the highway in large numbers. Three days ago, a girl at GH3 was raped and students claimed no action was taken. An FIR has been registered. Some hostel occupants have other demands too, like girls hostels should have all female staff. The case investigation is being carried out scientifically with CCTV, forensic and phone analysis. Student leaders will be taken into the loop, during the proceedings of the case. Investigation is being conducted and SIT has been constituted.”He added, “Fifteen days ago, a girl from Telangana had also committed suicide. Her parents had come to the university. Proceedings had been initiated in that case under Section 144 and phone analysis was conducted. That case, too, is under investigation and if students have any issues regarding the matter, they too will be looked into.”An FIR has been registered under Section 64 of the BNS at the Satnampura police station against an unknown person.Also read: Phagwara’s LPU says rumours being spread as Punjab Police form SIT to probe ‘rape case’, FIR registeredLPU protest turns dramatic as students climb atop MiG-23, tank at Punjab universityLPU students on rampage, Jalandhar-Phagwara highway blocked over unverified rape reportPunjab’s Chitkara, Lovely varsity unrest: Police probe student outburst, link between incidentsChitkara to LPU: Similar rumours trigger protests at Punjab universities in 2 days, what’s happening in election year?In the formal response on the issue, Lovely Professional University registrar Dr Monica Gulati responded, “Certain anti-social elements are spreading completely false, baseless and fabricated rumours through social media and other channels, thereby creating unnecessary confusion among students and attempting to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the university. There appears to be a deliberate and concerted attempt to malign the reputation of the university and tarnish its image. The university categorically clarifies that there is no truth in the rumours.”Massive security presently prevails outside the LPU campus with hundreds of police teams, including women battalions, being brought in to keep things peaceful and under control.Students gathered outside the LPU amid heavy police deployment on Jattvibeday.