BERHAMPUR : Berhampur University was closed sine die from Thursday evening due to student clashes and unruly scenes at the campus following the recently concluded students' union elections.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the syndicate of the university on Thursday afternoon it was approved by its vice-chancellor (VC), J.K.Baral. The university authorities have handed over the campus totally to the police administration for 24 hours to maintain law and order and all hostel boarders were directed to vacate the hostels within next 24 hours so that all hostel rooms may be sealed.

The Berhampur superintendent of police, Dayal Gangwar is camping at the Berhampur University monitoring the law and order situation with deployment of one platoon of armed police force.

Speaking to The Hindu, the VC termed the situation as unfortunate, which had emerged due to rivalry between two student groups during the election process at the university. He hoped normalcy would return to the campus soon and it would be reopened.

On Thursday the mobs of student groups had forced the administrative block as well as all the departments of the university to stop functioning. The tension had aggravated at the university since Wednesday afternoon after the oath taking ceremony of the student leaders, who had won the elections for the posts in student organisations.

Volatile scenario

Mr Gangwar said after the oath taking ceremony the student groups having alliance with the NSUI and the students' wing of the BJD had clashed on Wednesday evening. It had aggravated during night and by Thursday morning the whole campus had become tense and volatile. The warring student groups did not let any department or office of the university to open up for regular work and classes. As there was every chance of a violent clash between the students, the university authorities had to call for extra police deployment on the campus although armed policemen were deployed on the campus since the students' union elections last week.

After the declaration of sine die, the most worried are the hostel boarders especially girl students. A large number of them are making arrangements to leave the campus on Thursday night itself to spend the night with some family known to them.

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