SRFTI Kolkata sit-in enters third week as parents write to institute over students' safety

The Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata says it will respond to concerns raised by parents of some students, as a sit-in by students outside the vice-chancellor's office continued for a third week.

Registrar Deepak Kumar said on Friday that the institute had received an email from parents of a few students the previous day. "The concerns raised therein will be addressed appropriately in due course," he said, according to PTI. He did not say what the parents had raised.

The dispute

Students at the central film school have been holding an indefinite sit-in outside the office of Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera since October 12. They are demanding accountability for two incidents of alleged violence on the campus, proper security and action against those responsible, PTI reported. Students have also demanded the vice-chancellor's resignation and set out a 10-point charter covering academic freedom, campus security and student union elections, ETV Bharat reported.

The first incident was a clash on September 27 between students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an RSS-affiliated consumer group, at an event inside the campus; several students were injured. Students stopped attending classes the next day. On October 4, during a march by the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Mancha towards the main gate, students alleged that stones, bricks and bottles were thrown at the campus. The West Bengal government set up a Special Investigation Team to look into the September 27 incident, and the institute began its own fact-finding process.

What the institute says

The institute has rusticated six students and issued show-cause notices to others. In a statement on October 25, Mr Kumar said the action was taken over "alleged misconduct, vandalism, defacement and physical assault", not for protesting, following recommendations from the Dean's Council and a fact-finding committee, National Herald reported. The institute alleges that the vice-chancellor's office was occupied and damaged and that he was manhandled; reports differ on whether the alleged assault was on the vice-chancellor or a security officer.

On October 16, the institute suspended academic work in two departments until November 13 and ordered hostels vacated, according to PTI; students refused to leave. Mr Ajmera has said that outsiders with "a clear political agenda" are trying to take control of the institution.

What the students say

Students say the administration is taking punitive action instead of addressing their safety. They allege that access to the gymnasium, music room and film-viewing facilities has been restricted, and that power to a classroom they use for work was cut from October 24. An institute official denied cutting power or internet, saying the students were not telling the truth.

Tension rose on the night of October 27, when Kolkata Police entered the campus after a torch march. The institute said about 50 students had marched without permission using intimidating slogans and that police were called to protect the institution. The students' union said its march had ended by 6:30 pm, hours before about 10-15 police arrived near the guest house where the vice-chancellor stays, Deccan Chronicle reported.

What happens next

The institute has said it will review the situation by November 13, when the suspension of classes is due to end. Students at several other institutions, including Jadavpur University and JNU, have expressed solidarity with the protest.