On the night of 17 September 2022, thousands of students protested at Chandigarh University in Gharuan, Mohali district, Punjab, over allegations that a woman hosteller had secretly filmed other women students in a common washroom and shared the videos. Police arrested the student, two men from Himachal Pradesh and later an Army soldier arrested in Arunachal Pradesh, but said they had found only a video the accused had made of herself. Two were later chargesheeted, and all four were out of jail by December 2022.
Key takeaways
- Students protested from the night of 17 September 2022 until about 1.30 am on 19 September over allegations that a hosteller had recorded other women students and leaked the videos.
- Police and the university said no video of any other student was found, only one the accused made of herself. Students accused the university of "suppressing facts".
- Police, the district administration and the university denied rumours of suicide attempts.
- Four people were arrested. Charges against two were dropped; the student and an Army soldier were chargesheeted, and all four were on bail by December 2022. No verdict had been reported as of October 2026.
Background
Chandigarh University is a private university at Gharuan in Mohali district, Punjab. ADGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo said about 4,000 women students lived in the hostel PTI via Deccan Herald.
This page names no student, accused or complainant, and describes no video.
How it started
According to ADGP Deo, three to four women students saw the accused student using her phone in the common washroom. They thought she was photographing other students, and reported it to the warden, who informed police PTI via Deccan Herald.
Sadar Kharar police registered an FIR on 18 September on a hostel manager's statement Tribune LiveLaw. It was registered under Section 354-C (voyeurism) of the IPC and Section 66-E of the IT Act, both bailable. Police later added Section 67-A of the IT Act, which is non-bailable Tribune.
A video of a warden questioning the accused student spread on social media. Rumours followed that videos of many women, some said 60, were online. None of nine students BOOM spoke to had seen such a video BOOM.
Timeline
Protest erupts
Students gathered on the Gharuan campus over the allegations. Students later said they were lathi-charged on the Saturday The News Minute.
Two men held in Himachal Pradesh
Shimla police held the student's 23-year-old friend in Rohru and a 31-year-old man, and handed them to Punjab Police. The student had been arrested in Punjab PTI via Deccan Herald Tribune.
Second protest
A large crowd, many in black, chanted "we want justice" and questioned why the university had declared 19 and 20 September "non-teaching days" "if nothing had happened" PTI via Deccan Herald.
Protest ends
Students ended the protest after assurances of a fair probe, SSP Vivek Sheel Soni said. The university suspended two wardens for negligence, extended the non-teaching days to 24 September and formed a joint committee with students PTI via Deccan Herald.
SIT and police remand
DGP Gaurav Yadav set up an all-women SIT Tribune. A Kharar court sent the three accused to seven days' police remand; police had sought 10 days PTI via Onmanorama.
Army soldier arrested
Police arrested a soldier at Sela Pass, Arunachal Pradesh, with help from the Army and the Arunachal and Assam police PTI via Deccan Herald.
Chargesheet
Police dropped charges against the two Himachal men and charged the student and the soldier Tribune.
The protest and the students' demands
Students demanded an apology from police and the administration for calling the allegations "rumours", statements of affected students to be recorded before a student council, and a change of wardens The News Minute.
They also sought privacy in washrooms, relaxed hostel timings and an end to "undue" interference by wardens over clothes Tribune. One protester said "hostels should not be made jails" PTI via Deccan Herald.
The university agreed to relax hostel timings and share the FIR. Deputy Commissioner Amit Talwar promised a magisterial inquiry into the lathi-charge allegation and said no protesting student would be rusticated The News Minute. The inquiry's findings were not reported in the sources reviewed.
Both accounts
Protesting students' account
Students said videos of several women had been recorded and leaked, and accused the university of "suppressing facts" about the videos and an alleged "suicide attempt" PTI via Deccan Herald. Claim · Students The president of Punjab Students Union (Lalkar) told BOOM that police recorded statements of students who backed the university, sidelined those who said they had evidence, and were "covering up" the issue. BOOM.
Police, university and government account
Police position ADGP Deo said: "Prima facie we did not come across any video of other girls." Pro-Chancellor R S Bawa called reports of objectionable MMS of other students "totally false and baseless" PTI via Deccan Herald. Police officer Navreet Singh told BOOM that when statements were recorded, no one who said they had seen videos came forward, and that some students were using the incident to raise administrative grievances BOOM.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, then in Germany, ordered a "high-level inquiry", promised "severe action" against the guilty and asked people not to believe rumours. The National Commission for Women wrote to the Punjab DGP and the Vice Chancellor, and opposition leaders including Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Partap Singh Bajwa sought a free and fair probe PTI via Deccan Herald.
What police said was found
Claim · Police SSP Vivek Sheel Soni told ANI: "So far in our investigation, we have found out that there is only one video of the accused herself. She has not recorded any other video of anyone else" BOOM.
Early accounts were not consistent:
- An NDTV clip carried in Outlook's report quoted a Mohali SP saying four videos had been found on one student's phone Outlook.
- Outside the Kharar court on 19 September, defence counsel said there were two videos, one of the accused and one of another student PTI via Onmanorama. BOOM reported that the defence said the second video was not "of objectionable nature" BOOM.
- Claim · Police sources, via India TV India TV, citing unnamed police sources, reported on 20 September that "at least 12 more videos" were found on the student's phone India TV. No on-record police statement in the sources reviewed confirmed this, and on 23 September police maintained they had not found any objectionable video Tribune.
SIT in-charge Rupinder Kaur Bhatti said the student admitted making her own video and sharing it with her friend in Shimla. She initially said the 31-year-old man had been calling her and asking for photos and videos. A court later found that the number, which displayed his photo, was used by the soldier Tribune. DGP Yadav said the soldier was suspected of blackmailing the student PTI via Deccan Herald.
Suicide rumours
False Social media posts claimed several students had attempted or died by suicide. SSP Soni said: "No student has attempted suicide nor has any student died. these are just rumours going around" BOOM. DC Amit Talwar said there was "no reality" in the claims Maktoob.
Police said ambulances seen in viral clips carried students who fainted in the crowded, humid protest Outlook. A student was brought before protesters and said no one had attempted suicide PTI via Deccan Herald.
The SIT and the forensic findings
The SIT was supervised by ADGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo. SP (Counter-Intelligence) Ludhiana Rupinder Kaur Bhatti was in charge, with DSPs Rupinder Kaur and Deepika Singh as members. Yadav said "no person involved will be spared" Tribune.
The probe rested on forensic data from three seized phones. On 6 October, the 31-year-old man's lawyer told the court that police had received the forensic report on three phones and that it recovered only the accused student's own videos and photos, none of any other student Amar Ujala. This is the defence's account; police said publicly only that they were corroborating forensic data Tribune.
Documented The Tribune reported that the chargesheet said the soldier "was forcing the girl to send videos of other girl students but the suspect girl only sent her own photos/videos" Tribune.
Bail orders and the chargesheet
A Kharar court bailed the 31-year-old man on 6 October, finding "No conversation of the applicant with the co-accused" Tribune. Bailing the 23-year-old man on 12 October, it found no offence under Section 67-A was made out Tribune.
Refusing the student bail the same day, it said she had a key role: "Her act not only goes against her and the students on the campus but it affects the whole society" Tribune. In October, Additional District and Sessions Judge Avtar Singh Barda refused the soldier bail, calling the offences "heinous and dangerous to society" The Wire.
The chargesheet named the student and the soldier under IPC Sections 354-A, 354-C, 354-D, 506, 509 and 511, and IT Act sections Tribune. Granting the soldier bail, Justice Amarjot Bhatti said the investigation was complete: "Trial of this case may take long time." LiveLaw. The two Himachal men were not chargesheeted because their involvement was not established, and the student had been released earlier Tribune.
Outcome
- Arrests: Four: the student, two men from Shimla district and an Army soldier.
- Charges: Dropped against the two Himachal men in November 2022; the student and the soldier were chargesheeted.
- Bail: All four out of jail by 19 December 2022.
- University: Two wardens suspended, classes off to 24 September 2022.
- Deaths: None.
Where it stands
In December 2022 the High Court noted that charges were yet to be framed LiveLaw. No report of charges being framed, a trial verdict, or the magisterial inquiry's outcome was found in news or legal outlets up to October 2026. The case appears to be pending.
Questions people ask
What happened at Chandigarh University in September 2022?
Students protested overnight over allegations that a woman hosteller had secretly recorded others and leaked the videos. Police arrested her and three men but said they found only a video she had made of herself.
Were videos of other students found?
Police and the university said no objectionable video of any other student was found. Early statements varied. The chargesheet, as reported by The Tribune, said she sent only her own photos and videos.
Did any student attempt suicide?
No, according to police, the district administration and the university, who said some students fainted during the protest.
Who led the SIT?
ADGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo supervised it, with SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti in charge and two women DSPs as members.
What is the status of the case?
Two accused were chargesheeted in late 2022 and all four were on bail by December 2022. No trial verdict had been reported as of October 2026.
Sources
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Protests rock Chandigarh University over alleged objectionable videos, 18 Sept 2022
- The News Minute: Protests rock Chandigarh University over alleged leaked videos, 19 Sept 2022
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Chandigarh University to be closed till September 24, 19 Sept 2022
- Tribune: Accused youth arrested by Punjab police from Shimla, another detained, 19 Sept 2022
- BOOM: Chandigarh hostel video leak, 3 arrested, no classes till Saturday, 19 Sept 2022
- BOOM: What was the 'leaked' video that led to Chandigarh University protest?, Sept 2022
- Maktoob: Students continue protest, police say rumours of leaked videos false, Sept 2022
- Outlook: Students end protests, police form SIT, 19 Sept 2022
- Tribune: All-women SIT to probe Chandigarh University video clip row, 20 Sept 2022
- Tribune: 4th suspect, another photo crop up in probe, 20 Sept 2022
- PTI via Onmanorama: Three accused sent to 7-day police remand, 20 Sept 2022
- India TV: At least 12 more videos found on arrested student's mobile (police sources), 20 Sept 2022
- Tribune: Suspects' statements recorded, 23 Sept 2022
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Army man held from Arunachal Pradesh, fourth arrest, 24 Sept 2022
- Amar Ujala: Bail in Chandigarh University video case, soldier sent to judicial custody, 6 Oct 2022
- Tribune: Bail granted, Army man in judicial custody, 7 Oct 2022
- Tribune: Out on bail, accused claims innocence, 8 Oct 2022
- Tribune: Second suspect gets bail, 13 Oct 2022
- The Wire: Court denies bail to man accused of receiving explicit videos, 21 Oct 2022
- Tribune: Mohali police drop charges against two, 18 Nov 2022
- LiveLaw: High Court grants bail to accused in Chandigarh University video leak case, 22 Dec 2022
- Tribune: Army man gets bail, 22 Dec 2022