Chennai, Aug 21 (PTI) The city police on Monday detained a college student for hurling a firecracker on the campus in a bid to scare his opponents during a face-off between two groups, a senior police official said.

Denying that the student had flung a country bomb, the police official said the miscreant used a "country firecracker used in temple festivals in the state to frighten the opposing group of students."

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"There was previous discord between two groups of students in the college in Velachery. There was some disagreement this morning too. All of a sudden a student flung the 'firecracker' and fled," the official said.

The alert security personnel at the college caught hold of him when he attempted to flee and handed him over to the authorities, he said and added that a hunt is on to trace out and nab another student who made good his escape.

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"No weapons were used by the students. A section of media falsely reported that a country bomb was hurled, but it was not true," he said. A case has been registered.

Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary K Palaniswami condemned the incident and urged Chief Minister M K Stalin to ascertain whether those involved in the conflict were really students or someone behind the scenes and take appropriate action.

Expressing shock over the incident, BJP state chief K Annamalai claimed that "the bomb culture is spreading even among the college students under the DMK rule, indicating that the law and order is deteriorating." He urged the Chief Minister to intervene and ensure stringent action on the culprits and end violence on campus.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)