Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Sep 27: A clash between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) and students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata on Sunday left several people injured.
According to initial information, the ABGP’s West Bengal unit was holding a meeting at the SRFTI auditorium in the morning with permission from the institute authorities. The meeting began around 10 am.
Soon after, a section of students objected to the entry of outsiders into the campus and staged a protest outside the auditorium, questioning why private organisations were being allowed to hold meetings on the premises.
The students alleged that ABGP members attacked them following the protest and severely beat several students. Some professors were also allegedly injured when they intervened to protect the students.
Police personnel rushed to the campus to bring the situation under control. However, tension reportedly continued, with a group of outsiders allegedly remaining gathered outside the institute gate.
The ABGP put forward a counterclaim, alleging that some of its members were detained by students. The organisation also claimed that the bus in which its members had travelled to the meeting venue was detained inside the campus.
A section of students alleged that police personnel, instead of taking action against those accused of assaulting them, were recording the names and residential details of the complainants in their diaries. The students expressed apprehension that the information could later be used to harass them.
They demanded that police immediately register an FIR against those allegedly involved in the assault. Some students also staged a protest around a police vehicle over the issue.
Film director and SRFTI teacher Indranil Roychowdhury described the incident as worrying.
“The incident is very worrying. From the pictures I see, the students have been brutally attacked. Whatever the incident may have been, they cannot be assaulted like this by entering their campus. There must have been a way to inform the authorities if something untoward happened,” he said.
SRFTI student Meghraj Rao alleged that the auditorium was being used for meetings despite being meant for practical classes.
“We used to have practical classes in the auditorium. People were brought in from outside, and meetings were being held there. A few of us protested against it. As a protest, we wrote posters and stuck them on the wall. After that, members of that organisation attacked us. We were slapped and punched indiscriminately. Somehow, we escaped by running towards the hostel,” he said.
A professor also alleged that members of the organisation assaulted students and those who intervened.
“Students were being beaten up. Seeing that, we moved forward. Some people also attacked us. We were not spared either,” the professor said.
The ABGP, however, maintained that its meeting was being conducted with the permission of the institute authorities. The organisation alleged that a section of students attacked its members without provocation and claimed that several people were injured in the incident.