A contractor allegedly tried to attack the vice-chancellor of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) after barging into his office chamber at Burla on Saturday.
According to Vice-chancellor Atal Chaudhuri, the man had suddenly barged into his office room and started ransacking furniture before throwing a chair at him.
He was saved as the chair missed hitting him, Chaudhuri said.
The man, who was not known to the VC, was overpowered by the security guards and university staff and handed over to police.
It was found that the man had done some construction work at the university a few years ago and was to get a refund of Rs 4,000 he had deposited as security money, Hirakud sub- divisional police officer Sishu Ranjan Mohapatra said.
The man, he said, had never visited the department concerned for the refund but suddenly barged into the VC's office on Saturday and turned violent, the SDPO said.
Investigation into the incident is on, he added.