'Our video was trimmed': LPU girls who featured in rape-denial video make U-turn
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Our video was trimmed': LPU girls who featured in rape-denial video make U-turn")
As violence escalated at the Punjab's Lovely Professional University (LPU), the administration attempted to calm the situation Photograph: (X)
Amid violent protests at Punjab's Lovely Professional University over rape allegations, three students featured in an LPU video denying any incident in their hostel room later said they were instructed what to say and that the video was used without their consent.
As violence escalated at the Punjab's Lovely Professional University (LPU), the administration attempted to calm the situation by sharing a video of students claiming that no rape happened. Students went on rampage over rape allegations. However, after the video was released, the same students came forward to say they had been told what to say, and that their words were used without consent. LPU Registrar Dr Monika Gulati, in its official social media handles, released a video addressing students. The video featured three students who live in Room No. 504 of Girls' Hostel 3. They denied that any such incident had occurred there. Meanwhile, the university postponed its mid-term examinations and suspended regular classes for 10 days starting September 28.
What the students said in LPU video?
In the video, Gulati said, “I would like you to hear what the girls residing in room number 504 of GH3 told us.” LPU captioned the video as: “The false narrative ends here. No speculation. No hearsay. Hear the truth directly from the students who were there.” The first student said, "So, we are the residents of room number 504. Nothing of that sort happened in our room; we have been living here for the past two months. Please, police and students, do not bother us. Nothing like that happened in our room, and we are not involved in this at all." The second student added, “We have been extremely distressed today, and if we face further trouble, we will involve our parents. Please do not harass us.” The third said, “And the police should also stop coming to our room repeatedly; otherwise, we will call our parents.”
What the students said later?
Another video emerged later in which these three students said they had been instructed on what to say, and that their statements had been used without their knowledge or consent. One student said, “[LPU administration] told us to record all this and say it for them. We were just instructed to say that students and others are bothering us. Half of our video was trimmed and posted on Instagram, about which we had no idea. Our consent was not taken. This was done without informing us, and now we are facing unnecessary abuse.” A second student added, "We have no involvement in this. A random room was picked and named. We have absolutely no role in this. Please leave us alone." AUTHENTICITY OF THIS VIDEO IS NOT KNOWN.
Why did the protest begin?
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The protest began on Saturday night near girl's hostel after it was reported that a student was allegedly raped by an employee. Initially massive crowd outside girl's hostel chanted slogans and wanted the university to take action. Soon it was revealed that the warden knew about the incident but did not take action. This triggered widespread protest and students turned violent. Viral videos on social media showed the protesting students going on rampage, and setting several parts on fire, while chanting “we want justice”. The protesters also blocked a stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-44 and claimed that the hostel warden was informed about the incident, but no action was taken. As violence intensified, Punjab Police registered an FIR against an unknown person on a complaint by the students, and formed a SIT to investigate the matter.
