Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi accused the AAP‑led government of sponsoring violence at Lovely Professional University on Sunday.
Channi said the stampede started after university founder Ashok Mittal joined the BJP and that police failed to act on the alleged rape reports. He alleged that outsiders, allegedly backed by the police, set parts of the campus on fire and vandalised property.
The protest erupted after students claimed an outsider had raped a female student on campus. The unrest turned violent when masked men entered the university, damaged classrooms and set shop fronts ablaze. Classes were suspended for 10 days, leaving about 12,000 students stranded.
Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa slammed the state government, saying it reacted too late and should have protected students. Meanwhile, a group of LPU students gathered on the Delhi‑Amritsar highway, demanding a transparent investigation.
The AAP government has yet to file a formal report on the alleged rapes, and a probe into the violence is expected to be launched by the state ministry next week. A student who lost her laptop in the fire has already filed a complaint, hoping the inquiry will bring the perpetrators to justice.