Women's safety concerns trigger campus protests from Delhi to Punjab as clashes, misinformation fuel unrest

New Delhi: From Delhi to poll-bound Punjab, concerns over the safety and security of women students have gripped campuses, with genuine incidents, allegations and unverified social media claims in recent days triggering protests that have, in cases, spiralled into clashes, vandalism and disruption.

And these concerns are not misplaced. Sexual violence is a major issue. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, more than 80 rape cases are reported every day.

In Delhi, the alleged gangrape of a 17-year-old at Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir prompted students of Lady Shri Ram College and other Delhi University colleges to take to the streets, demanding greater safety for women. LSR had also shifted classes online for a day following the incident.


The concerns travelled to Punjab, where two consecutive campus protests at private varsities - Chitkara University near Rajpura and Lovely Professional University in Phagwara - highlighted the intensity of student anxiety and the risks of misinformation spreading rapidly online.

At Chitkara, unverified messages claiming that two female students were missing triggered a late-night protest. Police and the university said no student was missing or harmed, but the unrest escalated into clashes, damage to campus property and vandalism of two police vehicles. The university said the rumours were baseless.

At LPU, students protested after claims circulated that a female student had been sexually assaulted at the girls' hostel and that authorities had failed to act. The university termed the claims "false, baseless and fabricated". Police initially said they had no information of such a crime while Jalandhar Range DIG Naveen Singla later said an FIR had been registered on the basis of a student's allegation and that an SIT was investigating the matter using CCTV, forensic and phone analysis.

The protest turned violent. Students clashed with police and set vehicles on fire, with campus property damaged and the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway blocked. Several cops were injured even as police resorted to lathi charge, officials said. Visuals showed students climbing onto a MiG-23UM aircraft and a military tank on campus.

The episodes underline the double-edged role of social media, which can amplify genuine concerns and help students mobilise quickly, but the same can also turn unverified claims into perceived facts.

Student anger over safety concerns is legitimate, but the escalation into destruction of public or university property risks obscuring the underlying issue and can undermine a peaceful demand for accountability. The experience of 2026 NEET protests and 2012 anti-rape protests in Delhi - where initially large demonstrations eventually witnessed clashes and property damage - underlines how quickly public anger can take an ugly turn.