Violence at SRFTI: Students allege attack by BJP, RSS-linked groups

Kolkata: Students at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) alleged that they were attacked by people they identified as BJP and RSS supporters on September 27, leaving several students injured and creating an atmosphere of fear on the campus.

Swarnabha Banerjee, a student who was trying to return home to Dum Dum that evening, alleged that a group of outsiders gathered near the institute’s main gate and that the situation became increasingly tense. He said he decided to leave the campus when it appeared that the gate might not withstand the pressure of the crowd, The Wire reported.

Banerjee alleged that he was attacked after stepping outside. He said he managed to board a bus heading towards Garia, but the vehicle was stopped at a traffic signal, where a BJP leader accompanied by several others allegedly boarded the bus, assaulted him and dragged him out. He was later treated at a government hospital and filed an attempted murder complaint at the Survey Park police station.

According to students, the September 27 violence left eight students seriously injured, while a librarian and several teachers who attempted to intervene were also injured. Students claimed that more than 150 people suffered injuries of varying degrees. The confrontation reportedly followed opposition by students to a meeting organised on the campus by an RSS-affiliated group.

Around 500 of the institute’s 720 students live in hostels, while nearly 200 stay in rented accommodation nearby. Students said the alleged presence of groups outside the campus had heightened concerns about their safety.

Students also said tensions had been building for months over the use of the institute’s main auditorium by organisations associated with the RSS. Shubham Waidanade, vice-president of the students’ union, alleged that Sunday academic work had repeatedly been disrupted because such groups were allowed to hold meetings on the campus.

The institute’s newly appointed director Santosh Ajmera and the registrar have reportedly not responded to questions from students or journalists following the incident.

West Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar rejected allegations that the party was linked to the organisers of the meeting. He described the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat as a non-political consumer-protection organisation and alleged instead that students had attacked the gathering, damaged an image of Bharat Mata and questioned attendees, including two Scheduled Caste participants. He also alleged that women attending the meeting had been molested and said the party was collecting photographic and other evidence.

Students disputed these allegations. Ritam Sarkar questioned the claimed political neutrality of the organisers, pointing to the use of Bharat Mata imagery and slogans associated with the Sangh Parivar. Another student, Anushka Debnath, rejected the molestation allegations, saying women students had formed a protective cordon around women attending the meeting and attempted to escort them back to their bus when tensions escalated.

Attempts to obtain a response from Panchasayar police reportedly resulted in an assurance that a senior officer would comment.

Students said no police personnel were deployed to protect the campus on Monday or Tuesday despite continuing threats. They alleged that messages warning of another group arriving to take students away circulated through the night, leaving hundreds inside the locked campus dependent largely on a small number of security personnel while alleged BJP supporters remained nearby.