RSS group’s event in Satyajit Ray film institute triggers clashes

Kolkata: The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) was thrown into turmoil after students objected to an event by the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), with clashes leaving several people injured and police forced to cordon off the campus late into Sunday night.

The confrontation began after students questioned the organisation's presence and the banners put up for its programme at the institute's main theatre. The students' union alleged that ABGP members assaulted students, including women, and chased them through the campus, forcing some to seek shelter in the library. It also alleged that an outside group attempted to enter the institute and hurled stones and bottles.

The violence intensified as a crowd gathered outside the locked campus gates. Police intervention was required after an ambulance carrying injured students was reportedly prevented from leaving, delaying their journey to the hospital. BJP leaders subsequently gathered outside the institute demanding action against the students.

ABGP members, however, accused the students of initiating the confrontation by tearing down banners and festoons associated with the programme. Police sources said the dispute began as a verbal confrontation over the banners before escalating into violence.

The incident has raised fresh concerns over political activity and confrontations entering educational institutions in Kolkata, following recent unrest at Jadavpur University. The ABVP, another RSS-linked organisation, distanced itself from the episode and said the police should investigate.

The clash has left SRFTI, a premier government-run film institute, at the centre of another campus controversy, with competing allegations over who triggered the violence and why an outside organisation's programme became the flashpoint for the confrontation.