Authorities at the Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) have constituted a five-member inquiry committee to investigate a recent skirmish between two groups of medical students over a blood donation camp held on Friday.

According to MMCH sources, the committee will hear statements from both sides — organisers and protesters — on May 14 before arriving at a conclusion.

Police complaints have been filed by both student groups against each other.

MMCH authorities have said that the matter would be investigated impartially and appropriate actions would follow.

The conflict reportedly began when a group of medical students sought and received permission to organise the blood donation camp on the hospital campus.

Tensions escalated when the group displayed a banner claiming the event was organised by the “MMCH Students’ Council,” a body that currently does not exist, as no such council has been nominated or elected.

This prompted protests from another section of students, during which a female MBBS student and a male postgraduate trainee (PGT), who were part of the group which organised the blood donation event, alleged that they were verbally abused, threatened and subjected to several derogatory remarks by the protesters.

The duo subsequently lodged complaints with both the authorities and the police.

In turn, the protesting group alleged that one of their members was physically assaulted by the organisers and had to be hospitalised.

Both groups have also submitted written complaints to senior officials in the state health department.

On Saturday, the rival groups met with principal Partha Pratim Mukherjee, after which the inquiry committee was formed to probe into the entire incident.

“I have heard both sides. The disagreement of opinions unfortunately escalated into an undesirable incident. Hence, the committee has been set up to investigate the incident,” Mukherjee told The Telegraph.

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, a state-nominated member of the MMCH Rogi Kalyan Samiti and the chairman of Englishbazar municipality, said he was aware of the incident.

"A hospital is a place of treatment and peace. The authorities are already taking steps to resolve the matter,” Choudhury said.