Several activists of the Students Federation of India were injured in police lathicharge when they tried to break through a barricade during a law-violation programme here.
Nine policemen were also injured in the clash.
Rajeev Mishra, Special Additional CP and Joint CP HQ, said that the students broke the barricade and attacked the police, injuring nine cops.
The law-violation programme was organised to mark the second death anniversary of Sudipto Gupta, former leader of the SFI, CPI-M's student organisation.
A police officer present on the spot said that when the students broke the barricade and attacked them, the police resorted to lathicharge to control the situation.
CPI-M Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee accused the police of resorting to unprovoked lathicharge on the students in which several of them were injured.
He alleged that the police, which could not apprehend the criminals, resorted to lathicharge on the students who were organising the programme in a peaceful manner.
"There was no need to lathicharge the students who were moving in a peaceful manner. This shows how inept the state administration is," Banerjee told reporters.
CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra condemned the incident and dubbed it as an "inhuman and barbaric act" by the police.
He said that in this way protests could not be stopped and it would continue.
