SRFTI students allege denial of basic facilities amid 25-day protest

• SRFTI students allege the administration has restricted access to basic facilities during their protest.

• The indefinite sit-in and academic boycott have entered their 25th day.

• The administration accuses some protesters of disrupting classes; the students deny the charges.

Students protesting at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata have alleged that the administration is denying them access to basic facilities to force them to end their indefinite sit-in, which entered its 25th day on Thursday.

In a message issued on the occasion of Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday, the students said the institute mess had remained closed since 17 October. They also alleged that access to the gym, music room and New CRT, where students watch films, had been restricted.

The students described the measures as “collective punishment” amid their ongoing agitation over campus security and accountability following a series of violent incidents.

The protest has continued despite an institute notice issued on 16 October suspending regular academic activities in the Film and Electronic and Digital Marketing (EDM) departments until 13 November. The notice also directed students to leave their hostels and vacate the premises within 24 hours.

Refusing to leave, the students have continued their sit-in and academic boycott, demanding written assurances on campus security, action against those allegedly involved in violence and an independent investigation into the incidents.

The agitation began after clashes on 27 September during an event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), which students described as an RSS-linked organisation. Tensions escalated on 4 October, when students alleged that stones, bricks and bottles had been thrown towards the campus.

The protesters have also demanded the withdrawal of disciplinary notices issued to students and the resignation of vice-chancellor Santosh Ajmera. They maintain that the agitation will continue until their concerns over safety and accountability are addressed.

Administration accuses protesters of disrupting classes

An SRFTI official alleged that some protesting students had continued to occupy hostel accommodation for years after their terms had expired. The official described them as “the troublemakers” who had been instigating others and preventing junior students from attending academic sessions since 28 September.

The official said six students were suspended on 15 October on disciplinary grounds over allegations including attacks on faculty members and campus security personnel, as well as writing obscene graffiti on campus walls.

Sudip Chakraborty, spokesperson for the SRFTI students’ union, denied the allegations and said the students would take legal action in response to the charges.

He said around 150 students, many from outside West Bengal, lived on campus and in nearby areas, and warned that “any revengeful action by the institute authorities will inconvenience them”.

Chakraborty also alleged that students participating in the sit-in had been prevented from using a nearby washroom in the academic building, calling it a “basic denial of rights”.

“This had never happened before even during Covid by closing down our facilities,” he claimed.