Student protests turned violent at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, a city in Punjab's Kapurthala district in northern India, after allegations spread on social media that a female student had been raped inside a campus hostel. The unrest, which began on the night of 26–27 September 2026, saw protesters vandalise university property, block a major national highway, and clash with police — before authorities restored order by Monday morning.

According to students, the alleged victim, a resident of the GH-3 hostel on campus, had been raped by a plumber working at the university approximately three days before the protests broke out. Students said the woman had since returned home and that the university administration had taken no action. Protesters blocked National Highway 44 — the major route between the cities of Jalandhar and Phagwara — disrupting traffic for hours. When clashes escalated on Sunday evening, protesters threw bottles and stones at police, who responded with a baton charge. Some police vehicles were subsequently set on fire, and several officers sustained injuries. A heavy security presence was deployed on campus and a flag march was conducted to restore order.

Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) — a formal complaint that initiates a criminal investigation in India — on charges of rape against unknown persons, and constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter. The team includes five student members. Despite these steps, and assurances from the university's vice-chancellor, protesters held their ground through Sunday, demanding that LPU's founder-chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal appear at the protest site in person. By Monday, the Jalandhar Police Commissioner confirmed the situation had stabilised and traffic on the national highway had resumed. The university announced a ten-day suspension of classes and postponed its mid-term examinations.

LPU has categorically denied the allegations. The university's registrar described the social media rumours as "false and misleading" and attributed them to "mischievous sources." The university also released a video featuring three female students from the room in question, who stated that no such incident had taken place. Punjab police said their initial assessment suggested the gathering had been triggered by rumours, though the formal investigation remains open.

The incident at LPU comes just a day after protests at Chitkara University in Patiala, also in Punjab, where students alleged that two female students had died by suicide and their bodies had been concealed. Police investigations found those allegations to be unfounded. Punjab Police are now examining whether the two episodes of campus unrest may be connected, and investigators say no victim has been identified or traced in either case. The back-to-back incidents have nonetheless raised broader concerns about campus safety and the rapid spread of unverified claims on social media.