Cuttack, Oct. 25: Tension prevailed at Dhaneswar Rath Institute of Engineering and Management Studies (DRIEMS) following a clash between two groups of students.

Police said at least three students sustained minor injuries in the clash between third and fourth year inmates of the college hostel of the institute at Tangi.

Trouble erupted after a group of fourth-year students were allegedly attacked by junior students following a heated exchange of words between the two groups near the college canteen.

“We were out with our friends when some third-year students misbehaved with us and used abusive language. When we tried to find out why they were behaving this way, they attacked us,” alleged Asim Khuntia, a fourth-year student who has sustained minor injuries on his head.

Khuntia alleged the third-year students attacked them with iron rods and wooden sticks which were kept near a construction site in the campus. According to the students, there was a minor argument between the two groups of students during a cricket match a couple of days back.

“The college management is backing the third-year students. Many students were injured when the police resorted to lathi-charge on campus,” alleged Deba Prasad Agarwal, another fourth-year student.

In spite of several attempts, the third-year students could not be contacted.The police said efforts were taken to control the situation on campus.