Kolkata, Oct 1: SRFTI classes remained suspended for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday as students stayed away from academic activities and held a general body meeting following the campus violence on September 27.
“We have continued our boycott, and the general body meeting is on to decide our future course of action,” Subaraman, a spokesperson for the students’ association, told PTI.
“Neither academic activities nor projects related to shooting are being undertaken by students as we demand safety and security on campus and barring entry of outsiders not related to films to the campus,” Subaraman said.
The main gate remained closed, with graffiti reading ‘our campus is not for Shakha’. The word ‘Shakha’ refers to a branch of the RSS.
Another poster carrying the message ‘no entry fascists’ was put up along both sides of the pathway amid a heavy security presence.
A senior official of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) said, “Classes and academic activities remain suspended. We are speaking with the students so that normal classes can resume. We are also holding talks with the administration for normalcy on campus and a safe and secure environment.”
A section of students and members of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) clashed during a programme organised by the organisation on September 27.
Students alleged that ABGP members attacked them after they protested against a political programme organised by the RSS-affiliated group on the campus.
The organisation, however, claimed that its members were assaulted.
Three FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence.
One was lodged suo motu by police, while the other two were filed by ABGP functionary Anjan Sinha and SRFTI dean Sukanta Majumdar.
Police personnel were keeping a vigil at the gate while the outsourced security agency hired by the Centre-run institution did not allow media vehicles to go beyond a few hundred metres past the main gate.
The state government formed a six-member Special Investigative Team (SIT) to probe the clash in which several people — students and members of the group — were injured. (PTI)
