Three FIRs filed after SRFTI clash as student alleges threats and fresh mobilisation

Kolkata Police registered three FIRs after violence at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute on Sunday. Students and an RSS-linked consumer group have accused each other of assault during an event held inside the campus.

 

Police remained outside the institute’s main gate on Monday. Officers were examining CCTV footage to identify those involved and establish how the confrontation began, The Indian Express reported.

 

One FIR was registered suo motu against unidentified students. The other two followed complaints from SRFTI Dean of Film Sukanta Majumder and the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, or ABGP, which organised the event.

 

Majumder alleged that unidentified people restrained and injured students and two faculty members. His complaint also alleged that women students were insulted and that those involved issued threats.

 

The ABGP’s complaint accused unidentified students of restraining and assaulting its members and insulting women activists. It also alleged that students damaged images of Bharat Mata, Durga and Swami Vivekananda.

 

Police alleged in their own case that unidentified students restrained and manhandled officers and damaged a government vehicle. No arrests had been reported by Monday afternoon.

 

How the confrontation began

 

The ABGP hired SRFTI’s main auditorium for a programme after obtaining permission from the authorities. Its state leaders told PTI that the group paid Rs 15,000 to use the venue.

 

The group describes itself as a consumer protection organisation. The ABGP’s website says it was founded by RSS functionary Bindu Madhav Joshi and formally inaugurated in 1975.

 

Students said they had not been informed that the programme would be held in the institute’s main theatre. They questioned why a group unrelated to film education had been allowed to use a space also needed for academic work.

 

Ayen Banerjee, a final-year SRFTI student, told The Pioneer that a small group initially went to the theatre to protest peacefully. He said they put up stickers condemning Hindutva fascism before the confrontation began.

 

Banerjee alleged that ABGP members then attacked students with knives and chased some of them into the campus library. He said a librarian was assaulted and shelves were ransacked.

 

The students’ union and the Film and Television Institute of India students’ association made similar allegations. Their statements said students were chased into the library, a staff member was assaulted and some students suffered injuries allegedly caused by knives.

 

PTI reported that students claimed four people suffered serious injuries and several others were hurt. The ABGP rejected the students’ account and said four of its members had been admitted to hospital.

 

The precise injury count remains disputed. The Times of India and Deccan Herald reported that about 30 students and two faculty members were injured. An SRFTI official told PTI that no serious injuries had been reported.

 

Claims of an outside mob

 

Banerjee said more students gathered after news of the initial violence spread. He said their protest forced the event’s cancellation and the organisers’ removal from the theatre.

 

Students then prevented some organisers from leaving and demanded that police register a case against the alleged attackers in their presence. The ABGP accused the students of unlawfully confining its members and creating a hostile environment.

 

Banerjee alleged that a crowd gathered outside the main gate and threw stones towards students. He said one student caught outside was identified, assaulted and stripped, while other students received rape and death threats.

 

The allegation that a student was stripped has not been independently verified. However, The Indian Express and PTI reported students’ allegations that outsiders threw stones, bricks and bottles and attempted to enter the campus.

 

The Indian Express reported that a crowd outside also stopped an ambulance carrying injured students from leaving. Police intervened to clear its passage.

 

Students alleged that ABGP members had called them “anti-national”, “urban Naxals”, “terrorists” and “cockroaches”. The ABGP denied initiating the violence and accused students of tearing its posters and attacking attendees without provocation.

 

ABGP state president Pankaj Roy described the programme as a consumer rights event with a “nationalist vision”. He alleged that students harassed attendees, including women, and objected to an image of Bharat Mata.

 

Fresh tension alleged on Monday

 

In a message shared with The Pioneer on Monday, Banerjee said students had received warnings that they would be attacked again. He also alleged that a saffron march had begun from Ruby, about four kilometres from the institute, and was moving towards the campus.

 

Banerjee said the campus was under lockdown and students had sought additional police protection. The Pioneer could not independently verify the march or determine how many people were participating.

 

His account differed from the latest official version carried by PTI. An SRFTI official said earlier on Monday that classes had resumed, outsiders had dispersed and no gathering was present outside the gate.

 

The Indian Express reported later that the situation remained tense, with police deployed outside and students holding a silent protest. Further confirmation of the alleged march and lockdown was awaited.

 

The three FIRs now place allegations against students, the event organisers and unidentified outsiders under police scrutiny. CCTV footage, medical records and witness statements will be central to determining responsibility for the violence.