Bhubaneswar: A dispute over removal of posters sparked tension between student groups affiliated with Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Ramadevi Women’s University on Tuesday, with male outsiders allegedly entering the all-women’s campus during the confrontation.University vice-chancellor Jyotsna K B Rout had earlier in the day directed members of both student organisations to remove posters displayed outside the university gate. The posters had been put up to welcome newly admitted students and recruit them as members.Laxmipriya Biswal, a BCJD member who identified herself as a third-year student of the university, alleged that while her group removed its posters, ABVP members refused to do so, leading to an altercation between the two groups. She further alleged that ABVP member Roshni Jena misbehaved with her.Jena denied the allegations. The ABVP member, a resident student whose phone number appeared on one of the posters, claimed Biswal was not a student of the university and alleged that she assaulted her in the presence of deputy registrar Dilip Bisi during the altercation over poster.Amid the confrontation, Jena allegedly called male supporters, who entered the women’s university campus, escalating the situation. The supporters allegedly headed to the VC’s office to press Jena’s grievance. To protest the entry of men into the campus, other students shut all university gates. “After the confrontation with Laxmipriya, I went to the VC’s office but was not allowed to enter. I then called my ABVP colleagues, some of whom are also my local guardians,” Jena said.Both groups later approached the VC with their complaints. VC Rout said the two students were subsequently called for a meeting and agreed to resolve the matter amicably. “Sometime later, 12 boys entered the campus and created a ruckus outside my office. I tried to tell them that the issue had already been resolved amid the girls, but they insisted on seeking justice for Jena. We had to call the police to contain the situation,” she said.Saheed Nagar police said no complaint had been lodged by either group. However, police personnel were deployed on the campus as a precautionary measure to prevent any flare-up.
