SRFTI campus unrest continues amid student boycott and protests

Tensions remain high at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata following a violent clash on September 27 involving members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), an organization affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Students have maintained an academic boycott for six consecutive days, demanding the arrest of those responsible for the violence and increased campus security. The students' union alleges that participants of the ABGP event verbally abused them, called them ‘anti-national’, and physically attacked them with sticks, stones, and knives, while also snatching mobile phones and tearing clothes.

Conversely, the ABGP has disputed these accounts, claiming that students disrupted their program and attacked their members. In response to recent escalations, the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Mancha held a protest march near the institute's gates, leading to further unrest and attempts to force entry into the campus. Police have been deployed at the main gate to maintain order and prevent further clashes between protesters and students.