ARIYALUR: A total of 18 students of the government higher secondary school at Vikramangalam in the district were arrested over an alleged clash on campus on Monday. The students, who were all aged between 16 and 17, and from two separate communities, were produced before the local juvenile justice board and let go the same evening.
Existing animosity between the students from the SC and MBC communities intensified on November 9 when a 16-year-old SC student of Class 11 was sleeping on a writing bench in class. Seeing this, his classmate from the MBC community banged on the bench. This led to an altercation in which other students joined. The teachers, however, pacified them.
On Monday, the students, with support of other classmates from their respective community as well as those in Class 12, again exchanged blows. Vikramangalam police, who were called in, along with the teachers ended the assault.
That evening, parents of the SC students, however, resorted to a road blockade in Vikramangalam demanding action against those from the dominant community whom they blamed for the incident. Police registered a case and arrested 10 SC students and 8 MBC students. They were produced before the local juvenile justice board and let go with a warning, police said.