Chitkara University students protest over unverified suicide rumours; police launch inquiry
Protests erupted at Chitkara University near Rajpura over unverified claims that two female students had died by suicide; the university denied the reports and police have begun an inquiry.
A protest broke out at a private university near Rajpura in Patiala district on Friday night after unverified claims circulated that two female students had died by suicide on campus. During the demonstration, some students allegedly damaged a Punjab Police patrol vehicle, and videos purporting to show the damage were shared on social media.
The institution, Chitkara University, has denied that any such incident occurred. Its registrar, Col Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), who spoke with the protesting students, said, "No such incident has taken place at the university. These are all rumours."
Police officers, including Banur DSP Sukhdev Singh and the station house officers of Rajpura and Rajpura Sadar, reached the campus to assess the situation. The DSP said students were claiming that two female students were missing, but that no one could identify who was missing or provide names.
"We have met students here and received their complaints. But nobody knows who is missing. They do not even know the name of any of the girls who is missing. But there is a rumour that two girls are missing," he said. "Considering the seriousness of the matter, we have received a complaint from students. We will investigate it. We will do verification of each student. If anybody is found missing, necessary action will be taken."
Students also questioned reports of screams allegedly heard from a girls' hostel and asked whether the university had any information about the matter.
In a social media post, the university administration urged students to ignore unverified stories and rumours circulating in some groups, stating that local administration and police authorities were working closely with the campus team to address the unsubstantiated claims. It said it was committed to providing a safe experience for the student community and that all academic and placement initiatives would continue as scheduled on Saturday. Students were advised to rely only on official university communication and to report genuine concerns directly to the authorities.