Twenty-two fifth-semester girl students of Patna Law College have stopped attending classes for a week following violence on the campus.

The students have not gone to college after September 25 when two groups clashed over a sexual harassment incident on the campus.

The girls informed the principal about the incident but could not muster the courage to send a written complaint against the group behind the incident.

“We’re afraid of making a written compliant as it could create problems for us,” one of the students said. “We will go to class once the situation improves.”

Two student groups, one led by a fifth semester student and another by a third semester student, had clashed on September 25.

A third semester student had allegedly teased some fifth semester students on that day. When other fifth semester students came to know about the incident, they attacked some third semester students at the Patna Law College hostel in retaliation.

The entire stretch of the Law College road turned into a battlefield with both groups attacking each other with bricks, hockey sticks and wooden poles.

The college administration suspended for a month the two students who had led the groups.

“The Patna Law College council has debarred both students from attending class for a month,” Patna Law College principal Mohammad Sharif said. “The college council has issued a letter to senior university officials, including the vice-chancellor, Patna senior superintendent of police and Sultanganj police station house officer (SHO) to check any untoward incident. We have also requested the district administration to set up police pickets to check such incidents.”

The Patna Law College is located in the Golakpur area of Ashok Rajpath, surrounded by Patna University hostels such as the Law College hostel, Hathwa hostel and PG hostel Rani Ghat.

Sources said the police are dragging their feet in taking action against the groups involved in the clashes because of political pressure. A minister from the ruling JDU is said to be supporting one group, while the other group is supposedly backed by the RJD.

Sultanganj SHO Dinesh Chandra Srivastava, however, denied the police inaction claim. “The police conducted raids to arrest the two students who led the clashing groups but they fled,” he said.

The police are ready to give security to girl students if they complain against students involved in the eve-teasing incident,” he added.