Jalandhar: Five days after the vandalism and mayhem at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, Punjab over the alleged rape of a girl at the university hostel, chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal said that no rape incident took place and that fake reports started from social media only. Mittal said emphatically, “We generally say 100% but I am saying the news of alleged rape was 1 billion%/100 crore% fake. Nothing like that has happened.”This was his maiden interaction with the media following the protest and violence in the wake of alleged rape in girls hostel number three in the university on the night of September 26 and 27.The students not just led a massive protest on the campus but also blocked the traffic on NH-44, severely impacting the traffic on the busiest Jalandhar-Delhi route. LPU is a private university. Mittal is the founder chancellor of the varsity.Mittal, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) initially and was elected to the Upper House in 2022. He switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal in April this year. Interestingly, he switched sides days after properties linked to him were raided by the Enforcement Directorate.Terming the attack on LPU “as an attack on Punjab”, Mittal said that he was not bothered by the attack on the university, he was more concerned about the attack on the state. “It is an attempt to break the Hindu-Sikh unity of Punjab and damage its goodwill. It is an attempt to destabilise Punjab, which is a border state. Why did such an attack take place? Who let it happen?”The LPU chancellor, who was speaking to the media on the sidelines of Union home minister Amit Shah’s anti-drugs rally at Jalandhar on Wednesday (September 30) also said, “I am worried about our country’s security. Who let an attack of this magnitude happen?”When asked specifically if the alleged rape took place, the LPU chancellor said furiously, “There is no person (culprit) in this case and no victim. Till now, no victim has been found. All of this is fake. It was done to defame the country, Punjab and LPU Phagwara.”He also said that the way students were provoked was also a part of a conspiracy. “Destabilising the university is a small thing. It is the 2.5 crore people of Punjab who chose me as Rajya Sabha member. My responsibility is towards them,” he said.Smoke billows from a fire during a protest by students at the Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus, in Phagwara, Punjab, early September 27, 2026. Photo: PTI.Demanding an investigation, Mittal said that the attempt to destabilise 2.5 crore people of Punjab must be probed. It is important to investigate who did this because Punjab is a border state, he said.The LPU chancellor also said that the protest was majorly led by a mob rather than the students. “The students gradually joined in,” he added.On being asked about the extent of damage following the vandalism, Mittal said, “Nuksan to bahut huya (There was a lot of damage). We will manage the damage somehow, but the way Punjab’s image has been tarnished in the country is what has affected me the most.”He said that students from 28 states and 50 countries were studying at his university and that Punjab’s name was tarnished in front of them. It was a targeted conspiracy against Punjab, he maintained.“Punjab, which is a symbol of growth, its goodwill has been damaged. The damage to Punjab’s reputation has hurt me. It is a conspiracy against Punjab’s economy,” he said.To a query if the protest against LPU was targeted, as the message first appeared on Reddit, Mittal said, “Reddit is a platform. Anybody can write a message and send it, but it was forwarded through a conspiracy”.Mittal also shared that he didn’t leave Punjab during militancy time in post 1984 and 1990s rather set up his business during those days and expanded it too. “People used to ask me why I was investing in Punjab? I used to tell them that my Sikh brothers were standing with me,” he said.Earlier, on being questioned if the students’ allegations that LPU management was dominating and that there was no place for airing their views was also a propaganda, Mittal claimed, “Students in LPU are listened to more than any university in the country and the world.”Police registers three more FIRs in LPU violence caseInitially, the Kapurthala Police had lodged an FIR under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following the massive protest at LPU Phagwara on September 27 (Sunday). LPU Phagwara falls under Kapurthala district. The police have so far registered a total of four FIRs.A day later, on September 28, Kapurthala Police filed an FIR under section 285 (Danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) of the BNS and 8B of the National Highway Act 1965 at Sadar Phagwara police station. The students of the institute had laid siege to NH-44 and blocked the traffic during the protest.Similarly, in another FIR also registered at Sadar Police Station, Phagwara, the police slapped Sections 109 (Attempt to murder), 132 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 221 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 326 (Mischief) and 324 (Causing damage to the property) of the BNS.In another FIR lodged at Satnampura Police station, the police again included Sections 326, 324 and 309 (Robbery) of BNS and other Sections pertaining to public prevention of damage to public and private property act.Notably, the shopkeepers at LPU’s Uni Mall, located in the university campus, were the worst affected as several shops of mobile, laptops, electronic gadgets, toiletries, clothes, shoes, restaurants and a sweet shop, Lovely Sweet Shop, were looted and ransacked.Following the protest, many videos of students/mob or outsiders looting these stores have gone viral on social media. Interestingly, the only two shops that remained untouched and safe from the looters were a bookshop and a stationary raising questions and debate over the priority of youth.Earlier, during his visit to LPU, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed and a detailed investigation would be held. “Action will be taken as per law,” he said.