Berhampur, Sept. 27: Two groups of students, having the same political affiliation, clashed over nomination for the general secretary post on Bhanja Vihar campus today. The pre-poll clash left seven students injured.
The clash broke out after a junior student leader had staked claim to the general secretary post. When his senior colleagues had refused to entertain his plea, he threatened to file his nomination as an Independent candidate. His defiance of senior leaders led to the clash between the two groups of supporters belonging to the same student outfit.
The incident sparked tension on the varsity campus in Berhampur.
“If the situation persists, we will have no option but to suspend the students’ union polls scheduled on October 8,” said PG council chairman Ashok Kumar Panigrahi.
“Seven students suffered injuries after two groups armed with lathis indulged in a clash near the students’ hostel on Wednesday night. We have registered four cases against nearly 50 students. Some of the injured students — Somnath Patra, Prasant Kumar Sethi, Debasish Behera and Babuli Jena — have lodged a police complaint,” said assistant sub-inspector Bishnu Prasad Gouda, who is in charge of the Bhanja Bihar outpost.
One platoon of police has been deployed on the campus. “Besides, night patrolling has also been intensified, and we are keeping a strict vigil on the situation,” Gouda said.
Panigrahi said: “Today, we issued the notification for the October 8 students’ union poll, according to the higher education department guidelines. The nomination will start from September 30.”
“We have sought police protection for a smooth, free and fair election. We are taking steps to curb the entry of non-students and criminals during the election process. Every student of the university as well as the hostel boarders have been provided with I-cards. This provision can help keeping the non-students at bay from the university campus as well as the hostels,” he said.
“Though we have not asked the police to enter the hostels, but they can check the identity of any person loitering and indulging in the election process on the campus,” he said.
