By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The students agitation in Orissa following union poll violence in Utkal University has spread to other districts of the state, snowballing into a political clash between the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress.
Students’ unions affiliated to the Congress staged agitations in several districts, including Cuttack, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Chatrapur even though three student leaders arrested Friday were granted bail by a local court Tuesday.
Three buses of a private engineering college were torched by some unidentified people Monday night and the hooliganism was attributed to “agitating students”. However, the police say that miscreants burnt down the buses taking advantage of the student agitation.
Several ATMs were also damaged Tuesday during the protests. However, police say the situation is under control.
“Three ATMs have been damaged as some miscreants pelted stones and there were some stray incidents of violence but the situation is under control,” Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner B.K.Sharma said.
The administration has deployed armed security personnel around the Congress party office as well as other major educational institutes in the city. The police have beefed up security around educational institutes in the state, anticipating trouble.
The agitation has started following the clashes between two groups of students ahead of student union elections in the university, following which it was closed indefinitely.
The Utkal University was established in 1943.