SRFTI students write to chairman to resolve crisis over campus violence; sit-in enters 4th day

KOLKATA: Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute students, whose indefinite sit-in entered the fourth day on Thursday over campus violence, have written to its Chairman Suresh Goel, seeking his immediate intervention in the ongoing crisis and demanding the vice chancellor's resignation.

In a letter dated October 14, the SRFTI Students' Union said its members would continue their "academic halt and indefinite sit-in" until their demands, including Vice Chancellor Santosh Ajmera's resignation, revocation of disciplinary notices and an independent inquiry into campus violence, were addressed.

The letter, signed by students' union president Blossom Hazarika and vice-president Shubham Waydande, urged the institute authorities and the Centre to intervene immediately.

An SRFTI official said eight agitating students were served show-cause notices by the authorities on disciplinary grounds and for writing "objectionable graffiti" on the walls of the campus.

They were also accused of putting up some posters that violate campus discipline, not paying attention to the VC's request to resume classes and assaulting security personnel in the vice chancellor's room last week.

Classes in the premier central government-run film institute have remained suspended since September 28.

Countering the authorities' claim, the students alleged that they were attacked on September 27 by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, an RSS-affiliated consumer awareness group, and again on October 4 during a rally by the Bangiya Hindu Jagran Manch near the institute's gate.

They claimed that several students were injured in the incidents.

The students accused the institute administration of failing to ensure their safety and take adequate action following the alleged attacks.

They claimed that repeated requests for "accountability and dialogue with the chairman, vice-chancellor and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had not yielded satisfactory responses".

"We want to go back to our classes, resume our shoots and workshops, and make our films," the students' union said in the letter, urging the chairman to initiate dialogue and help resolve the impasse.

The union's key demands also include the "unconditional" rescheduling of all classes missed since September 28, along with the withdrawal of disciplinary and show-cause notices issued to students during the protests.

The students also sought formation of independent inquiry committees to investigate the incidents of September 27 and October 4, as well as allegations of intimidation, harassment and manhandling by institute staff on October 6 and 7.

They alleged that staff members had attempted to forcibly remove protesting students from the vice-chancellor's office during the sit-in. The students further accused the administration of using disciplinary proceedings to intimidate those questioning its handling of the crisis.

The SRFTI official denied the charge of staff members and security personnel assaulting students.

SFTI students union spokesperson Sudip Chakraborty told PTI: "Our academic halt and sit-in will continue simultaneously and we are consulting with lawyers to take legal steps about the show-cause."

While many students currently live outside the campus, the institute faces a shortage of approximately 100 hostel beds, the union said in the letter demanding official approval for temporary accommodation facilities, including vacant staff quarters, until a new hostel is constructed.

The students claimed that a proposal for a new hostel has been pending for three years.

They also alleged that injured students had been told by the authorities that medical assistance would be provided only if they remained in Kolkata, even when their families wished to arrange treatment in their home states.

They said the institute needed a head "who would respect freedom of expression, ensure students' physical and emotional safety, provide access to campus facilities during shoots and screenings, and maintain an open dialogue with the student body".

The vice-chancellor could not be contacted.