Jalandhar, Sept. 30 -- The Lovely Professional University (LPU) management has appointed Dr Sorabh Lakhanpal, executive dean and head of student welfare, as the official spokesperson to address the media. He spoke to the Hindustan Times regarding various concerns that triggered the recent student protest. Edited excerpts: Protests erupted among students following a fake Reddit message circulated at midnight on September 26, which claimed a female student had been raped on campus. As the message was fabricated, students could not provide the victim's name or a specific crime scene location. I was at the spot on Sunday midnight, trying to convince the students to allow the investigation protocols to proceed. Meanwhile, nearly 100 masked outsiders armed with iron rods and sharp weapons breached the university and began causing a ruckus. Seeing this, a few students joined them, vandalising the campus and looting the commercial complex. Recognising the danger, we secured the girls' hostels. The university administration has put its best foot forward to look into the alleged message and has started an investigation. The university has never denied this possibility, especially as the second wave of violence broke out exactly after several hours. The Punjab Police are conducting an investigation and we will coordinate fully with them. These allegations are completely baseless. Whenever such an incident occurs on campus, we follow established standard operating procedures (SOPs). This includes rushing the victim to the hospital by ambulance, notifying both the police and the parents, and arranging for the transport of the body. The university believed there was a lapse on the part of the district administration, as the violence that happened on the second day could have been averted....