At least 20 people were injured in a clash between students of Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia and local residents following an altercation on Thursday night.

The identities of all the injured could not be known immediately but some of them have been admitted to IU Central Hospital, said Rofiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shailakupa police station.

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IU students, however, claimed that 19 of the 20 injured were their peers, including Tanvir Ahmad of the folklore studies department, and Rezwan Siddiqi Kabbo of the law faculty. An outsider, named Suruj Ali, was also injured.

In fact, around 10pm, a heated argument broke out between some IU students and the staff of a local bus near Sheikhpara Bazar, with the former accusing the latter of misbehaving with their peers that evening.

The altercation took an ugly turn when the bus staff and some locals attacked the students with sticks and bricks, leaving 19 of them injured, according to eye-witnesses.

Later, other students rescued the injured from the clutches of the attackers and took them to hospital for treatment. 

The locals, later, blocked the Kushtia-Khulna highway, armed with sharp weapons, stalling traffic on the high-speed corridor for nearly two hours.

"After talks, our team managed to disperse the protesters and cleared the jam," said OC Rofiqul.

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Meanwhile, a team from IU proctorial body, including assistant proctor Amjad Hossain, tried to pacify the agitated students, who vowed to resort to protests if the university authorities failed to solve the issue soon.

IU proctor Professor M Jahangir Hossain said, “We are trying to resolve the issue”.