Kolkata, Oct 26: The standoff at Kolkata's Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) widened on Monday, with protesting students calling for a nationwide campus agitation on October 27 and the institute defending its decision to rusticate six students, Education Times reported.
Source: Education Times (The Times of India)
The institute said in a statement issued on October 25 that the disciplinary action followed alleged misconduct and damage to Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera's office on October 15, including broken windowpanes, damaged furniture and water and air-conditioning lines, besides an allegation that a student manhandled the vice-chancellor. Registrar Deepak Kumar said the action was over alleged misconduct, vandalism, defacement and physical assault, and not because students had exercised their right to protest, according to a PTI report carried by 7globe.
Source: 7globe (with PTI inputs)
The students' union has rejected the allegations as fabricated and says the agitation is about campus safety and accountability for the September 27 violence, Education Times reported. Students have been on a sit-in outside the vice-chancellor's office since October 12, demanding his resignation and an independent investigation.
Source: 7globe (with PTI inputs)
The agitation began after a clash on September 27 during an event organised on campus by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an RSS-linked consumer organisation. Students alleged they were attacked by people attending the event, while members of the organisation accused students of attacking them and disrupting the programme; several people, including students and faculty, were reported injured. Students began boycotting classes on September 28, another confrontation was reported on October 4, and the West Bengal government formed a six-member Special Investigation Team to investigate cases linked to the September 27 violence.
Source: Education Times (The Times of India)
Regular academic activities in SRFTI's Film and Electronic and Digital Media departments remain suspended until November 13, and on October 16 the institute directed students to vacate hostels within 24 hours; hostels and the hostel mess have since been closed. Students have also alleged that the electricity supply to a classroom they use for internet and workstation facilities was cut on the evening of October 24 — a senior official denied that internet access had been cut off, pointing to students livestreaming a press conference from the campus the next day. Actor Naseeruddin Shah and director Payal Kapadia have publicly backed the students, The CSR Journal and Education Times reported.
Source: The CSR Journal