Bhubaneswar: Students of Utkal University and BJB Autonomous College on Tuesday staged protests in front of their respective institutes as they traded charges following the alleged assault and abduction of Soumya Ranjan Mohapatra.

Supporters of Mohapatra, presidential post aspirant in the university's students' union polls in 2017, blamed Kalpataru Ojha, former BJB Autonomous College students' union president, for the alleged abduction.

A source said Ojha was a post-bearer of the student's wing of the BJD, while Mohapatra was also backed by the organisation.

"Ojha and his associates assaulted Mohapatra on the university campus and forcefully took him somewhere in a car. The police must arrest the culprits at the earliest," said a supporter of Mohapatra.

Following the incident, hundreds of people blocked the road passing through the university, triggering a widespread disruption of traffic on the stretch connecting Vani Vihar Square with Acharya Vihar Square.

"We are not against any demonstrations, but the students should protest on the campus and not on the main road by obstructing traffic movement," said Abinash Mohanty, a commuter.

Police later traced Mohapatra near Mancheswar and detained Ojha.

As soon as news spread, a number of supporters of Ojha blocked the road and burnt tyres in front of BJB Autonomous College.

"Mohapatra and his supporters were involved in extortion from contractors engaged in construction activities in the university. Since Ojha opposed them, they assaulted him and tried to frame him in a false case of abduction," said a supporter of Ojha.

Sources said the allegations of abduction and counter charge of extortion was the fallout of an internal rival between two leaders of the ruling party's students' front.

Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said they had detained two youths in connection with the abduction.