Chandigarh, March 17: Two gunshots were fired in the air at the Panjab University campus on Tuesday evening, causing a security scare during the university’s ongoing cultural festival, “Jhankaar.” The incident, which occurred near the Department of Botany, was allegedly intended to intimidate a prominent student leader from the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU).
Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur stated that while the campus was under heavy security for the festival, the perpetrators used the cover of the event to fire the shots before fleeing. The police have recovered two empty shells from the site and are currently reviewing CCTV footage to identify the suspects.
“Preliminary investigation suggests the shots were fired to threaten an individual named Jashanpreet Singh Jawanda,” SSP Kaur affirmed. She noted, however, that no formal complainant has come forward at this stage, though the police are pursuing the matter based on the evidence found at the scene.
Jawanda, a former candidate for the general secretary post in the Panjab University Students’ Council elections, is known to lead a faction of SOPU. The incident has revived concerns regarding student group rivalries and the presence of outsiders on campus, echoing a similar 2016 shooting that left three individuals injured.
