PHAGWARA: Shopkeepers at Lovely Professional University’s Uni Mall are counting their losses after stores were looted and damaged during Sunday’s violence on the campus, with laptops, mobile phones, courier consignments and even small items taken away.CCTV footage from the mall has captured some of those allegedly looting the stores, while university authorities are still assessing the overall damage.Vipin Malhotra, who runs VN Computers in the mall, said all the laptops and related equipment were taken from his store as well as three other stores, which were also damaged.“Even the small items were looted. We are assessing our losses,” he said, adding, “We have taken space on rent and suffered very heavy loss.”Some of those looting the mall were captured on CCTV cameras. Mobile phone shops and Lovely Sweets, owned by the LPU promoters, were also looted during the violence.“They didn’t even spare the two courier service offices and took away the stuff from there and damaged their offices,” said another shopkeeper in the mall.The looting was reported amid the violent protests that erupted at LPU on Sunday. Videos from the campus showed people entering shops inside Uni Mall and picking up food, gadgets and other items during the unrest.In one video, a voice could be heard saying “free mein shopping, shopping done”, while another showed a person pointing to items and saying they could be obtained “in free”.Other visuals showed shops and campus property damaged during the violence. The unrest also saw students block the Jalandhar-Phagwara stretch of NH-44 and clash with police, with lathicharge, stone pelting and vehicles being set on fire reported later in the day.Several students later said that the incidents of violence and looting had damaged their protest. Other shopkeepers also reported being looted.The campus remained heavily guarded on Monday, while classes were suspended for 10 days and students began leaving for home.University authorities said they were still assessing the extent of damage to property.
