Punjab: Chandigarh University Students End Protests Over Alleged Leaked Videos, Police Forms SIT To Probe Matter

Students had been protesting since Satuday over the alleged recording and leaking of "objectionable" videos of women students by a hosteller — a woman. Punjab Police had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under?Additional Director General (ADGP) of Police Gurpreet Deo to investigate the matter.?

The accused woman and two men have been arrested in the case, one of whom is said to be her boyfriend. She has been charged with section 354-C dealing with voyeurism of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act.?

However, the Punjab Police has said that no video of other women has been found to have been recorded or circulated so far, adding that only one video that the accused woman student made of herself has been found so far.?

Assurances to students by police, Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University on Monday suspended two wardens for negligence and also declared "non-teaching days" till Saturday. Further, it formed a joint committee comprising students and senior functionaries to address certain issues pertaining to hostel timings and other demands of the students, sources in the varsity said.

"They ended their protest at around 1:30 am," said Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni.

The university in a tweet said, "We are always with our students, be it their academic aspirations or their safety and well-being. We will leave no stone unturned to live it upto this commitment towards our students."

Protests began in Chandigarh University on Saturday and continued till Sunday night. Students ended protests in the early hours of Monday.

What the police has said so far?

Punjab Police said the accused woman student appeared to have shared a video of only herself with a 23-year-old man said to be her boyfriend. He has been arrested from Himachal Pradesh. A third person, a 31-year-old man, has also been arrested.?

The accused woman was arrested from Punjab while the man was held in Himachal Pradesh and was handed over to the Punjab Police. Officials said the woman's mobile phone?has?been seized for forensic analysis and added that there was no suicide attempt by any student. Initially, there were rumours that some women students had attempted to die by suicide after it emerged that videos of women students in the hostel have been made and leaked.

Visuals of ambulances transporting students were also circulating. The police clarified that the ambulances in the videos were taking students who fainted during the protests to the hospital. The police said that hundreds of students were closely packed in humid conditions during the protests, leading to several students fainting at the spot.?

The police and district administration brass met the students on Sunday and assured them of a fair probe.

Additional Director General (ADGP) of Police Gurpreet Deo said many rumours about the case were circulating on various social media platforms.?

She said, "There are 4,000 girl students who live in the hostel. One has been arrested by police. Her phone has been taken into police possession and state cyber crime is conducting its analysis."?

She added that three to four girl students spotted the accused student in the common washroom where she was taking some pictures with her phone "which they thought she was taking from underneath the bathroom door. They then reported the matter to the warden and subsequently the police were informed".?

However, the police kept clarifying that no recordings or other or any leak has been found so far.

The university authorities also rejected as "false and baseless" reports that claimed videos of several women students in the hostel were made and leaked on social media and that distraught students had attempted suicide.

SIT to investigate the case

The Punjab Police has formed a three-member all-women special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case. It is headed by ADGP Deo.

The team will thoroughly probe the case and no person involved will be spared, said Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav.

He added, "Investigations are going on at full pace."

Yadav appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony.?

He said, "Do not fall for unverified rumours. Let's work together for peace in society."

(With PTI inputs)