Students at Chandigarh University, in the early hours of Monday, 19 September, ended their protest against a girl student allegedly recording and sharing "objectionable" videos of other girls students, after the district and university administration assured that their demand for a fair probe would be fulfilled, said the police.
The university has now been shut till 24 September, and two wardens have been suspended for negligence over the matter.
On Sunday, the police confirmed that they had arrested three suspects in the case. The three accused have now been sent on a seven-day remand till 26 September.
On the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, a three-member all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted, which will conduct a high-level probe into the matter under the supervision of senior IPS officer Gurpreet Kaur Deo, said Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav.
He appealed to everyone to maintain peace and not fall for unverified rumours.
What Have the Suspects Been Charged With?
After conducting a preliminary probe, the police arrested a girl student, while a 23-year-old man, who is reportedly her boyfriend, was nabbed from Himachal Pradesh and handed over to the Punjab Police, news agency PTI reported.
The Himachal Pradesh Police also detained a 31-year-old man in connection with the case.
The police have registered a case against the female student under Section 354C (pertaining to voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Her phone has also been sent for forensic analysis.
The charges against the accused men are still unclear.
What the Students Have Said
Students alleged that the accused recorded and shared "objectionable" videos of approximately 60 female students, although the police said that they came across only one video of the woman accused herself.
Many students had claimed that the accused had admitted to filming videos of other women, but that the university authorities were trying to cover up the matter. The university has suspended classes for two days.
"The girls in my hostel were filmed but the university did not take any action. Instead, they are denying the filming of such videos. The warden misbehaved with girls who raised their voices. I will stay and fight for justice," the student, who hails from Haryana's Gurugram, told The Quint.
The students demanded a fair probe and questioned the authorities claiming that the accused woman did not film anyone else without a forensic report.
The students also demanded a copy of the FIR, raised questions about the wardens, and demanded that the women who were taken to the hospital be produced before them.
What the Police Have Said
Punjab's Additional Director General of Police Gurpreet Deo said that the accused woman student appeared to have shared a video of herself with the youth and no objectionable video of any other student was found.
Superintendent of Police (Rural Mohali) Navreet Singh Virk told The Quint that some students indulged in violence and also dismissed rumours of some girls trying to attempt suicide as false.
"The university called for ambulances. Since a huge crowd gathered and it was humid and many of the students were fainting. We did not have any first aid with us so the university called for ambulances. There was no suicide attempt," Virk said.
However, several social media posts refuted the claims made by the police and said that authorities were trying to cover up the incident.
What the University Has Said
In a statement, Chandigarh University dismissed "the rumours of seven girls committing suicide."
"No student committed suicide. Preliminary probe reveals that the accused girl had sent her own pics/videos to her boyfriend. No other material found. FIR filed. Police probing it. I appeal to students & parents not to believe in any rumour [sic]," Dr RS Bawa, pro-chancellor of Chandigarh University told ANI.
"... Whereas the fact is that no girl has attempted any such step. No girl has been admitted to hospital in the incident," the university had earlier said.
"All the rumours of objectionable videos shot of other girl students are totally false and baseless. No videos were found of any student which are objectionable except a personal video shot by a girl which was shared by her with her boyfriend," the university added.
Strict Action Has Been Initiated: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the incident and said that strict action had been initiated.
"Sad to hear about the unfortunate incident at Chandigarh University...our daughters are our honour...a high level inquiry has been ordered into the incident...severe action will be taken against whoever is found guilty," said Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty, he added.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI, Indian Express and Hindustan Times.)
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