Protests continued at Chandigarh University in Punjab’s Mohali on Sunday evening after allegations that a woman student had leaked videos of her hostel mates, ANI reported.
Hundreds of students first held demonstrations on Saturday night. Following the protests, the accused student was arrested and charged under Indian Penal Code Section 354C (voyeurism) and Section 66E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act.
However, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni clarified that the accused student had shared only her own videos with a friend and that the authorities did not find clips of other students on her phone, The Indian Express reported.
“I want to make it clear that we did not get any video of other women, we are also not giving a clean chit to anyone,” Soni said at a press conference.
The police have sent officials to Himachal Pradesh to look for a man known to the accused woman, Senior Police Officer Gurpreet Kaur Deo told NDTV. “Only after he is caught, more details will be known,” Kaur said.
Earlier, reports said the accused student allegedly demanded money from other students of the private institution for not leaking the videos.
But the university administration also clarified that were no objectionable videos.
“The claim that 60 such objectionable videos have been found is false and baseless,” Chandigarh University Pro Chancellor RS Bawa said in a statement. “The university carried out a preliminary investigation in which it found no such video apart from a personal video shot by a girl which she shared with her boyfriend.”
The university said that students’ mobile phones and other material have been handed over to the police for inquiry.
Meanwhile, when the protests started on Saturday night, there were rumours about women attempting suicide at the hostel. The police on Sunday debunked the misinformation.
Officials at the university clarified that one student was hospitalised after she had fainted, adding that her condition is stable.
However, students of the university accused the management of mishandling the situation.
“The protest took an ugly turn when the warden and other officials kept on pressurising other students for filing a false complaint against the alleged accused,” a student said, according to The Tribune. “They should have investigated the matter first, instead of blaming the student.”
The university’s Department of Student Welfare said it was ready to talk to the protestors and asked them to form a committee, India Today reported.
The university also announced that Monday and Tuesday will be non-teaching days for students. However, they have been asked to be present on both days.
High-level inquiry ordered
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said a high-level inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
“I am constantly in touch with the administration,” Mann said. “I appeal to all of you to avoid rumours.”
Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains also appealed to the students to remain calm. “It is a very sensitive matter,” Bains said. “No one guilty will be spared.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the incident was shameful. “All the culprits involved in this will get the harshest punishment,” he said. “All act with patience.”
The National Commission for Women said that its chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to the Punjab director general of police asking him to deal with the matter without laxity. Punjab Woman Commission chairperson Manisha Gulati said that the panel will look into the matter closely.
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