Three students arrested, two injured

BANDUNG: Three students from Bandung's Pendidikan Indonesia University (UPI) were taken into police custody and two other students from Parahyangan University were injured during a brawl over a volley ball match, an official said on Tuesday.

Bandung Regional Police chief Sr. Comr. Timur Pradopo told The Jakarta Post by phone from Bandung that as of Tuesday afternoon the situation was under control. A tight security cordon had been deployed to secure the Parahyangan campus on Jl. Cieumbuleuit in Bandung.

The incident broke out at around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday involving hundreds of students from both universities, creating panic among locals and motorists.

"The situation is under control following talks between officials from both universities involved in the brawl," officer Timur said.

In the meeting between UPI's deputy dean Rusli Ibrahim and Parahyangan's deputy rector Budi Pangarso it was agreed that the fight was a result of a misunderstanding between students and that the case would be legally processed.

Many Parahyangan students reportedly were afraid to go home as they faced the possibility of having UPI students block their way out of the campus.

Reports, however, said that tension had been increasing since Monday following the annual sports competition held by Parahyangan, which featured volley ball, basket ball, baseball and kempo martial art.

"On Tuesday, supporters of one of the universities got angry as their team lost a volley ball game and started to throw stones. One thing led to another and the brawl broke out," officer Timur said.

"Therefore we urged the students to display sportsmanship and stay out of trouble because the last thing we need is more chaos or provocateurs manipulating the situation," he added. (25/edt/emf)