Tension among students at Kendrapara Autonomous College and (right) police deployed on the campus following the unrest.Telegraph pictures

Kendrapara, April 25: Two groups of students clashed on the Kendrapara Autonomous College campus today, triggering tension.

A heated exchange of words over the parking of bicycles in front of the college hostel led to a duel between the two groups, with some of them reportedly sustaining injuries. Police were deployed at the college following the clash.

Eyewitness accounts said inmates of the boys’ hostel objected to the parking of bicycles by some students, who were not boarders of the hostel.

As the group went ahead with parking their bicycles without paying heed to the objections, it angered the hostel inmates. This led to the disturbance with the two groups of students roughing up each other.

Some college teachers, who tried to pacify the agitated students, faced the students’ wrath too. Apprehending further disturbance, the college authorities have asked the boarders to vacate the hostel immediately. However, those boarders, who are appearing for their Plus Three final-year examinations have been allowed to stay on.

“The situation is normal now. It was an act of sudden provocation by a section of students and those who were involved in creating disturbance have been reprimanded. They have been told not to do anything that will tarnish the image of the institution,” said college principal Pitabash Mohanty.

Some students said a trivial issue snowballed into a clash because of lack of proper action by college authorities. “The authorities were late to react. Had they intervened on time, the incident could have been averted,” said a student.

The autonomous college is flush with University Grants Commission (UGC) grants for infrastructure development. But for some reason, the college campus is yet to have boundary walls. Bereft of boundary walls, the campus has turned into a haven for goons after daybreak, said some guardians.

The police, however, are keeping an eye on the situation. “We are looking into the alleged involvement of non-students and outsiders in the disturbance,” said inspector of Kendrapara police station Ranjan Kumar Dey.