PATIALA: Hundreds of students protested at Chitkara University near Rajpura of Patiala district late Friday and early Saturday after unverified social media rumours claimed two female students were missing.The unrest escalated into clashes with police, vandalism of two police vehicles and damage to campus property.Banur police station SHO inspector Gursewak Singh said the unrest began after a prank by some students sparked rumours about ghosts linked to an alumnus’s suicide in a hostel. Rumours later spread that two female students were missing.Police and university officials said unverified posts and clips circulated through student WhatsApp and social media groups. Some students also claimed screams had been heard from the girls’ hostel. Hundreds of hostellers gathered in common areas, raised slogans against the administration and demanded transparency.Teams from Banur, Rajpura Sadar and Rajpura City police stations reached the campus. Sections of the crowd damaged police vehicles, smashing windscreens and windows, and allegedly manhandled an outpost in-charge.University registrar Col Rakesh Sharma (retd) said the rumours of missing girls were baseless and authorities immediately intervened on Friday night at around 10.30pm and informed students that no such incident had occurred.He said that none of the students could verify any details of missing students. He said the situation was under control and academic activities were continuing normally.Police conducted a verification drive and said protesters could not provide any name, photograph, roll number or identifying detail of the alleged missing students. SHO Gursewak Singh said no student had been reported missing or harmed.Patiala police have begun an inquiry into the origin of the rumours and the vandalism but have not registered a case against students. Investigators are seeking to identify those behind the prank and rumours.University authorities advised students and parents to disregard unverified online claims. Academic, hostel and placement activities remained unaffected.Additional security personnel were deployed outside the campus on Saturday as a precaution.