Theft from LPU Protest
The visuals emerging from the Lovely Professional University protest suggest that the movement may have crossed a troubling line. While students possess democratic rights to demand justice, accountability, and an impartial investigation, allegations that some participants looted articles from a shopping mall cannot be justified as protest. Peaceful dissent is a constitutional instrument through which citizens challenge institutions and seek redress; vandalism, destruction, and theft, by contrast, undermine the moral legitimacy of that cause. Such conduct not only causes financial harm to business owners but also exposes protesters to serious legal consequences and diverts public attention from their original grievances. Authorities must therefore investigate the allegations fairly, identify those responsible through credible evidence, and protect peaceful demonstrators from collective punishment. Justice requires transparency and restraint not intimidation, disorder, or the destruction of someone else’s property.
