From correspondents in Himachal Pradesh, India, 10:00 PM IST

Eighteen students of a college in Himachal Pradesh were arrested Friday for clashing on the campus, police said. They were later let off on bail.

The students were booked Thursday after violence was reported in the Government Postgraduate College in Solan, Superintendent of Police S.P.S. Verma told IANS. Solan is 45 km from Shimla.

Those held belonged to organisations like the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the Congress' National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Left-backed Students Federation of India (SFI).

Trouble started Wednesday when a minor skirmish took place between members of the ABVP and the SFI. On Thursday, the ABVP demanded a boycott of classes to protest the previous clash but NSUI activists objected to this, leading to fresh clashes between the two groups. Four students were injured in the row.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)