The protesting students were detained at Saidapet before they could proceed to the Raj Bhavan, police said.
The protesters demanded a proper probe into the deaths of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula of Hyderabad Central University and that of three girls - V Priyanka, T Monisha and E Saranya, all students of a Yoga and Naturopathy college at Chinna Salem in Villupuram district, and sought action against those involved in these cases.