Classes resume at SRFTI day after clash between right-wing group, students; 3 FIRs filed

KOLKATA: Students of SRFTI attended classes while the police maintained a presence outside the film school's main gate here on Monday, a day after a clash between a section of the students and members of a right-wing consumer protection group left several people injured, officials said. Three FIRs were registered at Panchayasayaar police station in connection with the violence.

While one case was lodged suo motu by the police, two others were filed by ABGP functionary Anjan Sinha and SRFTI Dean Sukanta Majumdar. "The situation is normal today. Outsiders have dispersed, while students have resumed classes," said an official of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), a central government-run entity.

He, however, added that following the previous day's turn of events, the situation on the campus remained tense. Students also demonstrated on the campus, protesting the incident. In his complaint, Sinha alleged that members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) were manhandled by the students when the group was holding a programme in the SRFTI auditorium after obtaining permission from the authorities.

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SRFTI: Clash on campus

Students damaged pictures of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda, besides breaking the windshield of a car on the campus and confining them within the campus, the ABGP functionary claimed in the police complaint. Majumdar and the SRFTI students' union, on the other hand, claimed being attacked by outsiders, including the use of sharp-edged weapons, rods, and brickbats, and that several faculty members were assaulted and described as "Pakistanis" and "anti-nationals", thereby hurting their patriotic sentiment. In its suo motu case, police said their personnel were barred from entering and leaving the campus as part of duty, and damaging windscreen of a police vehicle.

On Sunday, both sides accused each other of assault. Students alleged that ABGP members attacked them, while the organisation claimed its programme was disrupted and its members were assaulted. The incident triggered protests inside the campus, with students later locking the main gate and staging a sit-in demanding action against those they alleged had attacked them.

Trouble started after a group of students objected to the presence of people from outside the institute and questioned the authorities about allowing a private organisation with right-wing links to hold a programme on the campus.

Students manhandled during confrontation

The students' association, in a statement, alleged that the speakers at the event delivered "highly provocative speeches" and that members of the organisation used terms such as "anti-national", "urban Naxals" and "terrorists" against students. It also alleged that female students were manhandled during the confrontation. Students further alleged that some ABGP members subsequently assaulted them with knives and claimed that four students suffered serious injuries in the alleged attack, while several others were also hurt.

The ABGP, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that its members were attacked without provocation after students disrupted the programme and tore posters and banners, including images of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda. ABGP state president Pankaj Roy described the programme as an event to celebrate consumer rights with a "nationalist vision".

They claimed that a group gathered outside the SRFTI campus and threw stones and threatened to enter the premises, while alleging that police action was inadequate. Expressing solidarity with SRFTI students, the students' association of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, alleged that their counterparts were assaulted during a protest against an event "organised by an RSS-affiliated group."

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The association alleged that the ABGP organised the event at the SRFTI main auditorium without informing the general students' body or the students' union. The association also referred to a January 2024 incident at FTII, alleging that RSS-affiliated persons had entered the campus and assaulted students during academic activities.

"Events and screenings that have absolutely no relevance in the pedagogy and practice of film education" should not be organised at national film institutes without informing students, the statement said, while questioning the administration's role in permitting such programmes. Named after Satyajit Ray, the SRFTI is the second national centre for cinema education in India. It was established in 1995 by the Government of India.