Rumours Fuel Violence at Chitkara University and LPU in Punjab
· India · India Today, NDTV
Violent protests erupted at Chitkara University near Rajpura and Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, Punjab, driven by WhatsApp forwards and Instagram Reels about a rape, a suicide and a ghost. The panic at Chitkara began on September 23 when hostel students played a horror prank, which by September 25 had escalated into claims of two dead girls, then two missing girls, then a ghost walking the corridors. Window panes were smashed and two police vehicles damaged before authorities could establish that no post-mortem of any university student had been performed. LPU was closed for 10 days after its own violent student protest. The exact motive behind the rumours has not been identified and no named victim has emerged from the reports.
Why it matters
Students at two Punjab campuses were directly affected, with both universities shut down and their movements restricted for days. The episode shows how rapidly unverified social media content can disrupt campus life and trigger property damage, leaving students and administrators without clear answers.
Read the original report — India Today
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