Utkal University has tightened security across its Bhubaneswar campus after loud explosions near Gopabandhu Boys’ Hostel triggered a bomb scare and student protests ahead of Thursday’s students’ union elections.
The university has installed more than 250 CCTV cameras across the campus and its facilities, with additional surveillance in areas identified as sensitive. Police personnel and former Army personnel have also been deployed at the main entrance, while security has been strengthened on roads leading to the boys’ and girls’ hostels, the library and the Talapadeswari temple.
The scare began after loud explosions were heard near Gopabandhu Boys’ Hostel late on Sunday night. Residents reportedly rushed to safety amid fears that the campus had been targeted in a bomb attack. Students later gathered outside the hostel and raised slogans, while members of the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal gheraoed the university’s main gate and demanded action.
The incident followed a face-off earlier on Sunday between aspirants affiliated with the BCJD and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad over access to hostels to meet boarders during the election campaign. BCJD members accused ABVP supporters of hurling a bomb, while ABVP members denied the allegation.
DCP Saravana Vivek M and other police officers visited the university after the explosions and inspected the spot from where the sounds were reportedly heard. The DCP also held discussions with protesting students and assured them of their safety.
University election officer Jagneshwar Dandapat later dismissed reports that a bomb attack had taken place. He said the explosion was not caused by a bomb and that the incident had been wrongly described as a bombing. The university was still trying to establish whether the sound had resulted from a firecracker or another source, he said.
Dandapat said the administration was taking proactive measures to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident on campus. The expanded security arrangements cover key movement routes and facilities as campaigning continues across classrooms, hostels and common areas.
Despite the heightened security, candidates from all participating student groups resumed campaigning on Monday, meeting students and seeking votes ahead of the university’s Thursday elections. The administration’s next immediate task is to maintain campus security while determining the cause of the explosion and allowing election-related activities to continue.
