Chandigarh University girls bathing video leak smells of a big sex racket, all attempts made to hush up the case

CHANDIGARH: The leakage of videos of bathing girls of Chandigarh University and arrest of three accused- a girl and two boys- seems to be tip of an iceberg and new facts emerging in the case indicate possibility of a big sex racket operating in the University. The involvement of certain highups of the University can't be ruled out.

Punjab Police which appeared working under the influence of University authorities had downplayed the crime and even certain officers seemed trying to hush up the matter. Before the student protest erupted, the top bosses of the university allegedly used arm twisting of accused and the victims to keep the matter under wraps. The racket was almost hushed up but a video of hostel warden reprimanding the accused girl which went viral spoiled theit gameplan.

Initial reports from university reached to media were about some protests in the hostel and an attempt of suicide by atleast eight girls. Few news portal flashed the news on midnight of September 17 when the whole episode started unfolding. The controversy of making videos of bathing girls by a girl was going on at campus for over a week and University promoter Satnam Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor Dr.R.S.Bawa and Dean Student Welfare A.S.Kang were working overnightb to push the matter under carpet. What University authorities were called the rumors were actually the hard facts being suppressed either to save the reputation of the university or to protect certain bigfish.

Most disgusting was the role of Police officers who reached the university to handle the protests. They gave the clean chit to university authorities, even told the media the protests are based on rumours spread by some vested interests on social media. SSP Vivek Soni was on the spot and later DIG Gurpreet Singh Bhullar joined him. Questions are being raised on the intention of the police.

As per unconfirmed reports the videos of about 60 bathing girls were leaked and circulated by the accused. It was under the pressure of student protest that police registered an FIR and arrested the accused girl and two boys, all hailing from Himachal Pradesh. Yet the name of another boy from Maharashtra is ficuring in the case. It is possible that during the initial hours of student protests even before it the videos were deleted from the mobile phones of accused persons.

The university students demanding action against the accused persons have alleged that the hostel girls whose videos might have been circulated were detained by the University authorities in the dean office and threatened to spoil their career if they would speak to the media or police. Most of the girls who might be victims of video leak gate were either silenced or sent home, the agitating students alleged.

Satnam Singh Sandhu seen along with Hardeep Puri on dias with PM Narender Modi

It is a matter of fact that University promoter Satnam Singh Sandhu is an influential person having links with senior police officers, top political leaders and bureaucrats in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and at center. Satnam Singh Sandhu led the delegation of Sikh intellectuals who met Prime Minister Narender Modi at Delhi on April 29, 2022 to show solidarity of Sikh community with the BJP. He also celebrated the 72nd birthday of Modi by holding a blood donation camp attended by Union Minister Simrati Irani.

Sandhu had earlier started Chandigarh Group of Colleges at Landra in Mohali in 2001 with blessings of Badal family. He opened private university during the Capt Amarinder Singh Government in 2012 and name of 'Chandigarh' University was approved despite objections by Panjab University Chandigarh.

There are also allegations that some top police officers and politicians have also made investment in the private university and this aspect needs to be probed.

The initial probe by police into the alleged sex racket was not aimed to reveal the truth.The characters of racket started figuring only after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered to set up SIT headed by senior most and upright woman officer ADGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo.

In the first stage police claimed there was no video recording of bathing girls, in second stage of police investigation police said only the accused girl had sent her videos to her boy friend. If local police is to be believed there was no suicide attempt and later police qualified its stand saying seven eight girls were shifted to hospital because they fainted due to hunidity and hot weather.

Later an FIR was registered and the accused girl was arrested. It followed the arrest of two boys from Rohru in Himachal Pradesh and then came the name of the fourth accused in the case. Circumstances point out that a fair investigation can expose a bigger sex racket running in the university.

Was it not astonishing and unprofessional that police gave the clean chit to university authorities even before making any investigation into the case? . Understandably, it was due to the public pressure and presence of electronic media on the spot that police registered an FIR and arrested the accused. The viral videos of warden and accused (accepting crime) forced the police to change its statement from just rumours to just one girl involved in the case. Police also tried to hush up the matter saying nothing wrong in it if a girl is sending her videos to her boy friend. It was a personal matter.

In the past there were several cases of suicide by hostel students in Chandigarh University but those cases were never investigated properly to find the reasons behind suicides. Majority of students in this university are from states other than Punjab. Large number of students are from Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan and foreign countries. University authorities allegedly suppressed the facts in suicide cases.

The students living in hostels are forced to live in a closed environment. The girl students on protest alleged on camera that they were living a life of prisoners and they have no liberty to move out on campus. The hostel gates are closed at 7 PM. The bathrooms are not well equipped and protected.

The current protest by university students was not only the result of alleged leak of videos of bathing girls, but it was the culmination of long drawn suffocation among the students and dictatorial attitude of the management.

Punjab Government must enusre to probe the matter in depth and find out if there was any sex racket running with the connivance of university authorities. It was not a matter of one university but linked to the whole student community and their families. A fair probe will ensure safety of young girls studying in various educational institutes.