CHANDIGARH: After examining 3,000 hours of CCTV footage, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Punjab Police has filed a closure report in the First Information Report (FIR) registered in Phagwara on allegations of rape of a girl student at Lovely Professional University (LPU) on September 27 which had triggered widespread violence and vandalism last month as `No Evidence’ was found to substantiate the claims.
Sources said that after pains taking investigation the SIT Police filed a cancellation report in the case on October 30 before the court of Harshvir Singh Sandhu, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), at Phagwara.
An officer privy to the investigations of this case said that the SIT examined 3,000 hours of CCTV footage of ten day of the cameras in the campus and elsewhere and also recorded statements of 800 girl students residing in different hostels in the LPU campus besides of 50 wardens, staff and security personnel and to be doubly sure also did a broadcast in which it was requested that any student who has any information should come forward and record one’s statement with the police but it was also 'negative', this after that it was decided to file a cancellation report in this case.
"The examination of the digital devices was also done and ultimately found that the allegations of alleged rape were completely "unfounded and false" as no material evidence came on record which could suggest or establish the occurrence of rape or any such evidence which could help in identification of the victim thus an affidavit in this regard was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Inspector General of Police (Counter Intelligence) Ashish Choudhary also in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed seeking probe by an independent agency into the violence reported on the LPU campus," he added.
During the investigation, the SIT also questioned a student who had allegedly posted about the incident on Reddit. The post claimed that a university worker had raped a student in Girls’ Hostel No 3. The post went viral and triggered protests on the campus.
"The FIR has not yet been formally closed, as the cancellation report is awaiting the court’s approval," he said.
Confirming that police has filed a closure report in the alleged rape case at the LPU campus, Naveen Singla, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Jalandhar Range) told this newspaper that after investigation the Special Investigation Team formed to probe this sensitive matter did not find any evidence that such a heinous crime took place at the campus so a closure report in this incident has been filed in the court.
He added that in the two other FIRs which related to the violence and vandalism at the campus the alleged accused have been arrested and investigations are going on.
Sources said the SIT had sought footage from the university's network of about 5,500 CCTV cameras, along with the assistance of dedicated technical personnel to scan digital databases.
The violence at the LPU campus erupted last month following unverified reports alleging that an outsider had raped a female student. The protests escalated, with NH-44 blocked and university property vandalised and vehicles set ablaze. The university had denied the allegation, while police have registered a rape case against an unidentified person and are investigating the claim.
A local police had registered a rape case FIR (No 162) under Section 64 of the BNS at the Satnampura police station in Phagwara against unidentified suspects, though the identity of neither of the alleged victim was not established nor the accused being established.
The agitation escalated after outsiders entered the university premises as police vehicles were set on fire, shops at the LPU mall were allegedly looted and extensive damage was caused to campus property, with losses estimated Rs 30 crore.