Harjot Singh Bains, the Punjab education minister, has called for calm after a massive protest broke out on the Chandigarh University campus after videos of 60 girls bathing were leaked on the internet. The minister urged students to remain calm and the media to be cautious, saying the issue is sensitive and concerns the dignity of “our sisters and daughters.” “I humbly request all Chandigarh University students to remain calm; no one guilty will be spared,” the minister tweeted. “We all, including the media, must be extremely cautious; it is also a test of ours as a society,” he added.
The campus was thrown into chaos after it was discovered that some videos of the hostel girls bathing were available on the internet and were going viral. It was discovered that the videos were created by a female student and sent to a male student in Shimla, who then uploaded them to the internet. According to reports, approximately 60 such videos were leaked. When confronted by other girls and hostel staff, the accused allegedly confessed to the crime.
According to some accounts, the hostel administration attempted to cover up the incident while some of the girls whose videos were leaked attempted suicide, which the police denied. After locking the accused, the students came out and staged a massive protest on campus, after which police arrived and arrested the girl.
Mohali SSP dismissed reports of deaths, injuries, or suicide attempts in the aftermath of the video leak. “It’s a matter of a video being shot by a girl student & circulated. FIR has been registered in the matter and the accused student has been arrested. No death reported related to this incident. As per medical records, no attempt (to commit suicide) was reported,” Mohali SSP said.
“Do not spread any rumours. Let’s talk only based on facts. Medical records of all students have been taken. We will comment further only after the doctors give their reports. This is my request don’t pay attention to rumours. I have told this to the students also. Give us some time for the investigation to be completed,” the SSP said.
Manisha Gulati, the chairperson of the Punjab Women Commission, assured the student’s parents that the accused would not be spared. “This is a serious matter. An investigation is underway,” she said.
Several videos about the incident have gone viral on social media. In one of these unverified videos, the accused is seen being questioned by other students who are questioning her about why she made those videos. The accused allegedly claimed that the Shimla boy to whom she sent the videos forced her to do so.
