At least 16 students of Dhaka Polytechnic Institute were injured last night when police opened fire to quell a clash between the students and locals of Begumbari slum in the capital.

The injured were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where three were admitted and the rest released after primary treatment, said Bachchu Miah, a sub-inspector at the hospital's police camp.

He said quoting other students that several other bullet-hit students were taken to different city hospitals.

Saiful Alam Mollah, general secretary of the Polytechnic Institute unit of the ruling party's student front Bangladesh Chhatra League, said that he knew about 19 injured who received treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and the nearby Shamarita hospital.

The clash erupted when a student of Latif dormitory of the institute was beaten up by some residents of the nearby Begunbari slum in the evening, said Biplob Kumar Sarkar, deputy commissioner of Dhaka metropolitan police's Tejgaon division.

Following the incident, a number of students from the dormitory went to the slum and beat up six or seven residents. As the students were returning, residents of the slum began chasing them.

A clash ensued near the dormitory and soon police intervened to calm the situation, said Biplob.

“As the agitated students started throwing brickbats at police, [we] had to open fire to bring the commotion under control,” he said.