Bengal: Situation normal at SRFTI day after clash between students, consumer group

The situation at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) was normal on Monday, a day after a clash between a section of students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), a right-wing consumer protection organisation, left several people injured, officials said.

Police maintained a presence outside the institute's main gate, while students attended classes and no outsiders gathered outside the campus.

"Today the situation is normal. Outsiders have dispersed, while students have resumed classes," an SRFTI official said.

A senior police officer posted outside the gate said cases had been registered by both sides, besides a suo motu case, at the nearby Panchasayar police station in connection with Sunday's clash.

Both sides had accused each other of assault following the incident.

Students alleged that ABGP members attacked them, while the organisation claimed that its programme at the institute was disrupted and its members were assaulted.

The clash triggered protests inside the campus, with students later locking the main gate and staging a sit-in. They demanded action against those they alleged had attacked them.

The ABGP had hired the institute's auditorium for its programme after obtaining permission from the authorities, according to its state leaders. The event began around 10 am on Sunday.

Trouble reportedly began after a group of students objected to the presence of outsiders at the institute and questioned the authorities over allowing a private organisation with right-wing links to hold an event on the campus.

The students allegedly put up posters near the auditorium in protest, following which a heated exchange took place between them and members of the organising group.

The students' association, in a statement, alleged that speakers at the event delivered "highly provocative speeches" and that members of the organisation were involved in the ensuing confrontation.