Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Aug. 22: Tension prevailed at the BJB Autonomous College today after outsiders allegedly attacked a student last night in what is seen to be a pre-poll violence.

The students' union elections of the college are scheduled in October.

Following last night's incident, irate students staged demonstrations twice during the day and locked up the main gate besides blocking the national highway in front of the college.

Narrating the events that led to tension, a Plus Three final-year arts student, Soubhagya Ranjan Sahu, said: "I was in my hostel when a group of outsiders and students asked me to meet them. When I came out, they started assaulting me. After I cried for help, my hostel mates rushed to the spot and rescued me. As I have decided to contest the students' union poll, our rivals might have staged the attack."

Today, hundreds of students locked the college gate, demanding police deployment on the campus to prevent recurrence of any such incidents.

Later, Soubhagya lodged a complaint at Badagada police station, and based on this, the cops arrested another student, Dipti Ranjan Sahoo.

On this, further trouble erupted with Dipti's supporters blocking the national highway in the evening. They alleged that the police were acting biased and did not register their complaint. "The allegations against Dipti are baseless. Soubhagya's supporters assaulted Dipti last night. Though we have lodged a police complaint, they have not done anything," said a student.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said adequate police personnel had been deployed on the campus. "We have also asked the college authorities to install closed-circuit television cameras, which will help us identifying the trouble-mongers," said Bhoi.

BJB Autonomous College principal Mohammed Nawaz Hasan said they were keeping a close watch on the situation. "We have asked the police to deploy their men on the campus and also prevent outsiders' entry. We will shortly install closed-circuit cameras."

In a similar development, five students of the Banki Autonomous College in Cuttack district were injured in a clash between two student groups over some past rivalry around 10:30am today.

Though the reason behind the scuffle is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that trouble erupted after a few students allegedly passed lewd comments to another group of students in the morning. Angered over the incident, the students allegedly assaulted their rivals on the campus.

The clash between the two students' groups escalated and snowballed into a controversy after people of their villages - Ranpur and Dansara - clashed on the issue outside the campus. The villagers pelted the police with stones when the cops tried to intervene. Four police vehicles were damaged due to stone pelting.

Banki Autonomous College principal Amarendra Mishra said sine die had been clamped on the campus for an indefinite period. "The hostel boarders will not be allowed to leave the campus as the situation outside is tense. They will be allowed to leave after their guardians arrive at the college by tomorrow," said Mishra.