Thursday, 15 October 2026

ABVP and BCJD supporters clash at Utkal University ahead of campus polls

 

BHUBANESWAR: A clash broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) at Utkal University on Wednesday, minutes before a ‘Why I Stand For’ meeting, a day ahead of the students’ union elections.

Police sources said an altercation escalated into a scuffle, with members of both groups allegedly hurling chairs at one another inside the university’s convocation hall. Two students sustained minor injuries in the incident.

The BCJD alleged that its members were targeted during the programme. “Students supporting us were attacked. They are also being threatened in the hostels and forced to vote for our rival party’s candidate,” a BCJD member alleged.

ABVP members refuted the allegations, claiming that BCJD supporters had attacked them. A fourth-year student was assaulted by BCJD supporters and sustained injuries, the student outfit alleged.

Sources said several outsiders were present on the campus earlier in the day and were involved in the violence. Both groups accused each other of bringing outsiders onto the campus and attacking their members.

Bhubaneswar DCP Saravana Vivek M and other senior police officers rushed to the university to defuse the tension. “Two students sustained minor injuries in the incident. The situation is under control, and police deployment is in place to prevent any untoward incident,” Saravana said.

Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University Prof Chandi Prasad Nanda, in the presence of the DCP, held a meeting with representatives and candidates of various student organisations to ensure that the elections pass off peacefully.

 

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