Bhubaneswar, May 26: Students of Neelachal Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), located near Ram Mandir in Kharavela Nagar police limits, ransacked the institute today demanding their mark sheets.

About 43 BSc nursing students of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 batches alleged that the institute was not issuing them mark sheets and provisional certificates making it impossible for them to apply for government jobs.

The agitating students, most of them women, ransacked the office room, laboratory and classrooms with sticks and iron rods. Police intervened to bring the situation under control. Later, the students lodged a written complaint with the Kharavela Nagar police station.

"Our examination concluded in March. But the institute is yet to provide us the mark sheets, without which we are unable to apply for jobs. Most of us are now working in private hospitals on a meagre monthly salary of Rs 5000 to 6000," said Lopamudra Mohanty, a nursing student.

The students also alleged that when they inquired about their certificates with Utkal University, they were told that NIMS was not affiliated to it.

"The authorities of Utkal University informed us that our institute had to pay an arrear of Rs 5 lakh for the affiliation. We have spent more than Rs 4 lakh for the course but are unable to get good jobs," said another student, Monalisha Senapati.

On the other hand, NIMS chairman Damodar Pati held the university responsible for the situation.

"One of the university officials had a personal dispute with me and because of that, he is deliberately withholding the certificates of my students.

We have approached the university several times to grant us the affiliation but they have been deliberately denying us. We will either lodge a case against the university authorities or will move the court," Pati said.

However, Utkal University authorities denied the allegations made by Pati.

"The institute had applied for the affiliation and subsequently, we had constituted a local enquiry committee. The institute was supposed to co-ordinate with the member of the committee for inspection. We had sent the committee twice in December 2015 and February this year for inspection but they did not co-operate. They are trying to mislead the students by dragging the university into the controversy," said director of Utkal college development council Santosh Tripathy.