Two Afghanistan students injured in a clash at Ravenshaw

Cuttack, Jan 13 (PTI) At least three studentsincluding two from Afghanistan were injured in a clashbetweeen two groups at the Ravenshaw University premises heretoday, police said.

The irate students also went on a rampage attackingphotojournalists who had rushed to the spot to cover theincident, they said.

The injured foreign nationals were identified asIsmail (22), a student of Bachelor in Business Administration(BBA) and Hamid-Ul- Samsor, a graduation student fromAfghnistan. Though they sustained injuries on heads, noses andhands, their condition was out of danger, doctors treatingthem said.

Of the total 78 foreign students in the varsity, 69came from Afghanistan, said varsity registrar SmarapriyaMishra adding that other foreign students were from Nigeria,Russia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Japan.

According to University authorities, some boarders ofNew PG Hostel of the campus were having a discussion with theUniversity registrar Smarapriya Mishra over certain problemsof their hostel. Not satisfied with the assurances of VC, thestudents immediately locked the University main gate inprotest.

�It was during the time, when a group of students fromAfghanistan wanted to go out of the campus after their examsbut the protestors refused to open the locked gate which ledto exchange of heated words between them. Soon the rivalgroups were engaged with exchange of blows and pelting ofstones," sources said.

However, the situation was brought under control afterpolice arrived on the spot. Police chased the attackers andtook the injured to hospital after rescuing them. While theuniversity campus is tense after the incident, two sections ofarmed police are deployed inside the campus.

This is the second such incident inside the campusreported when local and foreign students have clashed eversince the foreign students took admission here in 2009. Lasttime they were engaged in a scuffle after a friendly footballmatch ending in a shocking defeat for local students.

Police said at least five FIRs were filed by thephotojournalists naming the University students� unionpresident Harishankar Rout as leading a group of studentsassaulting the scribes with hockey sticks, cricket bats andwicket stumps.

A student had allegedly brandished a country-maderevolver while chasing the journalists in abusive languages,the FIRs said.