An uneasy calm returned to the Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus on Monday morning, a day after violence and lawlessness were reported during protests. Heavy police deployment remained in place across the university premises as authorities began assessing and clearing the damage caused during the unrest.
Traffic on the National Highway outside the university resumed after midnight following a blockade by protesting students that continued for nearly 21 hours.
The university also started clearing the damage caused during the violence. Cranes were brought in to remove police vehicles that had been set on fire on the flyover outside the campus on Sunday night.
LPU authorities said they were also carrying out a clean-up of damaged property. Officials reported the presence of “masked outsiders” during the protests, with some reportedly carrying walkie-talkie sets.
The unrest has also triggered a large-scale exodus of students from the campus. Of the nearly 40,000 students enrolled at LPU, more than half had left by Monday morning using trains, buses and cabs.
Hundreds of parents also reached the university from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan to take their children back home.
The departures followed the university's decision to keep the campus closed for 10 days. Mid-term examinations scheduled to begin on October 1 have also been postponed for the time being.
Internet services remain suspended
Internet services at the LPU campus have remained suspended since midnight. While the shutdown may have helped restore calm by restricting the posting of videos and updates and limiting online coordination among students, it has also caused difficulties for those remaining on campus.
Students said they were unable to make payments through UPI or access study material available online.
A student from Jammu said students were not accustomed to carrying cash and added that the ATM inside the campus had been demolished.
Despite the disruption, students said canteens on the campus were functioning normally on Monday morning and there were no difficulties in obtaining meals.
The campus continued to remain heavily barricaded by police, particularly ahead of the visit of Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, who was scheduled to assess the situation.
Special DGP Parveen Sinha and DIG, Jalandhar Range, Naveen Singla accompanied Yadav and briefed him on developments at the university.