Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Sep 20:

Tension mounted today at the Ramadevi Women’s College and Kamla Nehru Women's Collge in Odisha's capital city after the nomination papers of two presidential candidates were rejected during scrutiny.

Supporters of the candidate, assisted by outsiders who entered the campus, allegedly tried to torch a vehicle, reports said.

College sources said the nomination papers filed by Aisa Jahan, one of the three students in the running for the post of president, was rejected on the grounds of lack of adequate attendance while that of two other candidates- Apoorva Aparupa and Swasti Dasnayak -were upheld. Following the rejection, Jahan's angry supporters turned violent, prompting college authorities to seek police help.

Three students, said to be Jahan's supporters as well as former students of the college, entered the campus and allegedly went on a ransacking spree and behaved badly with some students.

“They even poured petrol on two cars belonging to teachers and tried to set them on fire. The timely intervention of the police prevented the students from causing any serious damage,” a student, seeking anonymity, told OST.

Police personnel from the Kharavel Nagar, Saheed Nagar and Mahila Police stations have been deployed on the campus to keep a watch over the situation.

Meanwhile Mahila police have detained the three girls for their alleged involvement in acts of violence.

A similar incident took place at the Kamala Nehru Women’s College in the city when the nomination papers of one of the two candidates for the post of president was rejected.

The supporters of the rejected candidate locked the college gate and staged demonstrations against the college authorities, describing the rejection of nomination an “unfair, biased and high-handed decision”.