CHENNAI: Nine college students were arrested on Friday by city police for clashing with weapons inside the Pachaiyappas college on Thursday during ‘Samathuva Pongal’ celebrations.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the clash was a spill-over of the ‘Route Thala issue, an enmity between college students travelling in different bus and train routes.
The celebrations organised by the Tamil department in the campus began around 10 am on Thursday, in which around 200 students participated. Around 11:30 am, a group of students who travel in Tiruttani and Gummidipoondi-Parrys route entered the campus raising slogans. Students from the opposite camp exchanged verbal abuses, which soon escalated.
Both groups entered into fisticuffs and then hurled stones at each other. Some were also carrying weapons and attacked each other, police sources said. Police rushed to the scene after which the students dispersed. One student suffered head injuries and was administered 16 sutures.
Based on a complaint by an injured student, Kilpauk Police registered a case under several sections of the IPC and arrested 9 students — Purushothaman (19) of Vanagaram, Anandan (23), Prasad (20) of Nellore, Mayajothi (19) of Maduravoyal, Sivashankar (18) of Valasaravakkam, Surya (18) of Ayanambakkam, Bal Akash (19) of Porur, Devarajan (18) of Porur and Nirmal (17).
Further investigations are on.
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