Students gather at the SSKM compound with sticks on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

Two unions competing for enrolment of members during admissions to the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research at SSKM Hospital clashed on Thursday, forcing the authorities to call police.

Tension had been brewing between members of the rival unions since Wednesday and snowballed into violence after the close of admissions around 2.45pm.

Sources said the clash began when some members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) allegedly barred their counterparts in the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) from entering the hostel. By the time a police team arrived, there was chaos all around.

When the police tried to calm down members of the warring unions, they were pelted with stones. It wasn’t until 9pm that a semblance of normality was restored on the campus.

“We have brought the situation under control for now, but there is still an undercurrent of tension. We are maintaining a strong police picket there to tackle any emergency,” said Rajesh Subarna, the deputy commissioner of police (south division).

Biplab Chandra, a state committee member of the AIDSO, blamed the rival union for the fracas. “When the SFI realised that most freshers had joined our union, they went berserk, ransacking our rooms and destroying expensive items like laptops.”

The SFI refuted the allegation. “It is they who ransacked our rooms. They brought goons from outside and attacked our members,” said Pradipta Dhar, a member of the Calcutta district committee.

The director of the institution, Pradip Mitra, said the clash was in the making ever since both unions started vying for the attention of freshers. “A meeting will be held on Friday to decide our future course of action,” he said.