Chandigarh University shut for a week, two men arrested in obscene video case

Chandigarh University has been shut down for a week following massive protests by students demanding action on the alleged leak of objectionable videos from the girls’ hostel.

The authorities of the privately run institution located in Mohali on the outskirts of Chandigarh  have also suspended the girls’ hostel warden Rajvinder Kaur for alleged misbehaviour with students.

Three people have been arrested in the case so far. Apart from the accused girl, her boyfriend, a resident of Shimla identified as Sunny Mehta has been arrested in the case. Besides, another man from Himachal Pradesh has been detained.

The Himachal police have handed both the men to the Punjab police.

Mehta, 23, works for a travel agency and belongs to a local village under Rohru sub division of Shimla district, nearly 130 km away from the northern town. The accused was nabbed by a team led by Dr Monika, Superintendent of Police, Shimla.

The detained person has been identified as Rankaj Verma, who is 31 years old from Dhalli police station area.

“In the Chandigarh University Case. Punjab Police reached PS Rohru in Shimla. The accused Sunny Mehta has been handed over to them. Zero tolerance to crime against women. If any collateral evidence comes our way, we will take action as per law,” said Director General of Police Himachal Pradesh, Sanjay Kundu.

The students ended their protest in the morning today after the district administration and police assured them of a fair and transparent investigation into the allegations.

According to the police,  only four videos have been found in the phone of the woman student accused of taking and releasing obscene videos of girls at the hostel university. But all these are of this woman which she sent to her boyfriend.  There has also been no suicide attempt at the university, as is being claimed by the protesting students.

The students at the Chandigarh University have refused to accept the police findings that there is no prima facie evidence that the student had taken obscene videos of other women at the hostel bathroom.

“All the rumours of objectionable videos shot of other girl students are totally false and baseless,” RS Bawa, Pro-Chancellor, Chandigarh University, has said.