Hundreds of Rajshahi University (RU) students clashed with shopkeepers at a market adjacent to the campus last night, leaving some 10 people injured and three shops torched.

The locals manhandled RU Proctor Enamul Haque during the melee.

Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Rajshahi highway was suspended till filing of the report at 12:10am due to barricades put up by the students.

The clashes started at around 8:30pm when a group of students attacked a ticket counter of Rajshahi-Dhaka bus service for 'cheating' a fellow student. They set fire to the counter and two shops at Binodhpur Bazar.

Humayun Kabir, the student, said he had taken a Dhaka-bound bus with a ticket for Tk 250. But at Natore, he was forced to get off as the bus staff gave his seat to another person.

Chase and counter-chase continued for hours as the police and RU authorities remained onlookers. Several students and locals were injured in stone-throwing between the two sides.

The traders manhandled the RU proctor when he went to the scene at around 10:00pm.

The injured students include Sagar, Alif, Sayed, Jasim, Sazzad, Monowar, Prottoy Kumar, Aminul Islam, Sabuj and Liton.

Riot police and Rapid Action Battalion were keeping the area cordoned off as tension was running high.