According to authorities, the two men involved in the Chandigarh University leak case were pressuring the student who was arrested to distribute footage of other hostellers.
The student said that Sunny Mehta and his friend Rankaj Verma had threatened to make her private recordings popular if she didn’t record and post videos of the dormitory residents using the public bathroom.
A student, a 23-year-old man from Himachal Pradesh who is rumoured to be her lover, and his 31-year-old acquaintance have all been detained by the Punjab Police.
Midnight, on Saturday, Chandigarh University saw a large-scale uprising after students claimed that “private” and “objectionable” videos of a number of female dormitory residents had been posted online.
The students said that there were leaked videos of approximately 60 girls taking baths in the dorm. However, the university said in a statement that only one video had been distributed. Furthermore, the accused recorded and distributed it. According to them, the girl produced the video and shared it with her friend in Himachal Pradesh on her own.
The institution denied rumours that a student had died on campus in connection with the controversy and said that a female student had leaked the film by sending it to one of her classmates. The situation came to light after Chandigarh University’s provost clarified that there had been no suicides or fatalities on campus in a statement.
The police reported that they have filed a FIR under Section 354-C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, and that they are continuing their investigation.
A three-person special investigation team (SIT) comprised solely of female police officers has been formed to look into the situation per the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
The three suspects were presented by the police on Monday in Mohali’s Kharar court, where they asked for a ten-day remand. The offender was nonetheless given a seven-day police remand by the court.
Around 1.30 am on Monday, students at Chandigarh University ended their demonstration after receiving assurances of a fair and open investigation, according to Mohali Police Chief Soni.
While this was going on, the university declared “non-teaching days” up until September 24, at which point many students went home. A nine-member committee to investigate the incident has also been constituted by the university.
