Berhampur: Tension ran high in Binayak Acharya College here after a group of students barged inside a classroom and assaulted lecturers while misbehaving with the girls during an elocution competition Thursday.
Tension was palpable on the college premises as three complaints were lodged in the police station. One of the FIRs was lodged by the principal, Surya Narayan Sahu, the second one by the girl students and the third by librarian Saroj Sahu.
The incident is stated to be the fallout of a bitter dispute prevailing between two warring groups of students from the time of the student union elections.
The incident occurred at a time when the college authorities were organizing various competitions among students ahead of the annual function of the student union.
Accordingly, the elocution and essay competitions were conducted in room no-18 in the presence of principal Sahu, student union president Vicky Patra, secretary D Hitesh and lecturers.
The elocution competition started at 10 am and participants were delivering talks when student union president Patra expressed his displeasure in organizing the competition without his consent.
The principal and lecturers tried to placate him requesting him not to raise objections as all students’ representatives have been informed in advance.
Later, Patra left the room in a huff. A few minutes later some students barged inside the classroom and triggered a ruckus. The student union adviser Chitta Ranjan Mohanty and librarian Saroj Sahu tried to calm down the agitating students.
However, they refused to listen and scuffled with them while assaulting Mohanty and Sahu. They even beat up those lecturers who intervened. They pushed some students to the ground and delivered blows on others.
The unruly students even did not spare the girls and hurled abuses at them and pulled and pushed them. Later, they left the place.
When contacted, Sahu rejected the charges of ignoring the student union members. He said the date of the competition had been finalised after due consultation with them.
PNN