Lovely Professional University in Punjab’s Phagwara has been rocked by violent protests, with shocking videos from the campus showing vandalism, fire, clashes and students rushing towards hostels. The unrest spilled onto the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway, with NH-44 blocked as tensions escalated. Police moved in to clear the road, while several police vehicles were reportedly damaged. Videos circulating online also appear to show people taking food, gadgets and other items from shops inside the university’s Uni Mall. Amid the chaos, LPU has rejected the sexual-assault reports as false and baseless and says several claims circulating about the incident are rumours.

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has suffered a dramatic internal split, with a group of volunteers and former protesters breaking away to launch the Cockroach Janata Party (Democratic), or CJP-D. Led by founder Manish Brahmbhatt, the breakaway faction has accused Abhijeet Dipke’s CJP of centralising power, politicising the student movement and allowing a personality cult to emerge. Brahmbhatt has also alleged that the Dipke-led outfit became a “cat’s paw” of the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal, claiming volunteers were sidelined in favour of people with political affiliations.