Kolkata: Students at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata continued their academic boycott for the 15th consecutive day on Monday, demanding assurances on campus security after clashes linked to a programme organised by an RSS-affiliated group and a subsequent protest outside the institute.
The students began abstaining from academic activities on September 27, when tensions escalated over a programme organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), a consumer awareness group affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), at an auditorium on the institute’s campus. Students questioned how outsiders had been allowed to organise an event inside the institute.
The dispute led to a clash between members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the ABGP, leaving several people, including two faculty members, injured. A large police force later arrived outside the institute as tensions continued.
The situation flared up again on October 4, when the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch held a protest outside SRFTI’s main gate against the September 27 incident. Students alleged that protesters assaulted them as they made their way to campus and threw stones and bottles.
A spokesperson for the students’ union told PTI that the boycott would continue over alleged attempts by RSS-linked organisations to enter the campus and rallies by outsiders near the main gate, which students said threatened their security.
Union spokesperson Sudip Chakraborty said students remained dissatisfied with the institute administration’s response to their concerns and alleged that it had failed to take adequate steps to address security issues. He said students had staged a sit-in outside the vice-chancellor’s office after the October 4 incident, seeking improved security arrangements.
Chakraborty also alleged that some institute staff members and security personnel had intimidated and harassed students participating in the protest. Around 150 students from outside West Bengal felt threatened amid the continuing tensions, he said.
The students’ union is expected to convene a general body meeting soon to discuss the situation and decide its next course of action.
SRFTI Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera could not be reached for comment. A senior institute official said, however, that most students had already left the hostels with the onset of Durga Puja.
In a statement issued on October 5, the institute said it was “deeply concerned” about the incidents and reiterated its commitment to ensuring students’ safety and security.
Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad member Indranil Mukherjee offered a different account of the September 27 incident. Speaking to ANI, he said the ABGP programme was a government-related consumer awareness event that had been taking place since morning. He alleged that students he described as “separatists and ultra-Leftists” targeted those attending it.
Mukherjee further alleged that students forced attendees out, stopped the programme and assaulted women and children. He said the police had been informed and that organisers were asking officers to allow them to enter the campus for 15 minutes.
Further details of the incidents are awaited.
(From agency inputs from ANI and PTI)