SRFTI students allege denial of basic facilities amid ongoing protest

The agitation began after clashes on September 27 during an event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), which the students described as an RSS-linked organisation. File | Photo Credit: PTI SRFTI students, who are continuing their indefinite sit-in protest on campus despite being asked to vacate the premises, on Thursday (October 22, 2026) alleged that the administration denied them access to basic facilities to stop their agitation.Also read | Six SRFTI students rusticated for allegedly vandalising V-C’s office and manhandling himIn a message issued on the occasion of Bijoya Dashami on Wednesday (October 21), the students said the institute mess had remained closed since October 17, while access to the gym, music room and New CRT, where students watch films, had also been "restricted by the administration".The students alleged that the "institute administration was resorting to measures that amounted to collective punishment by denying them access to basic facilities amid the ongoing agitation".The allegations come amid a prolonged standoff between students and the institute administration following a series of violent incidents on the campus.In a notice issued on October 16, the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) suspended regular academic activities in its Film and Electronic and Digital Marketing (EDM) departments until November 13 and asked students to leave their hostels and vacate the premises within 24 hours.Refusing to leave, the students said they were continuing their indefinite sit-in protest and academic boycott, which had entered its 25th day, over concerns about campus security and accountability.The allegations come amid an extended standoff between students and the institute administration following a series of violent incidents on the campus.The agitation began after clashes on September 27 during an event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), which the students described as an RSS-linked organisation.The students subsequently sought written assurances on campus security, action against those allegedly involved in the violence and an independent investigation into the incidents.Tensions escalated further following another incident on October 4, when students alleged that stones, bricks and bottles were thrown towards the campus.The protesters later intensified their agitation, demanding accountability, withdrawal of disciplinary notices issued to protesting students and the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera.They have also alleged that the administration's response to the protest has compounded their difficulties, particularly over accommodation and access to essential facilities.The students have maintained that their agitation would continue until their concerns over safety, accountability and the administration's handling of the situation were addressed.An SRFTI official, however, alleged that a section of the protesting students had overstayed in the hostel for years despite the expiry of their terms and were "the troublemakers and instigating and preventing junior students from attending academic session since September 28".The official said six students were suspended on October 15 on disciplinary grounds over allegations ranging from attacks on faculty members and campus security personnel to writing obscene graffiti on campus walls.Sudip Chakraborty, spokesperson for the SRFTI students' union, denied the allegations and said the students would take legal action in response to the charges.He added that around 150 students, many of them from outside West Bengal, lived on the campus and in nearby areas, and warned that "any revengeful action by the institute authorities will inconvenience them".Mr. Chakraborty further alleged that the administration had prevented students participating in the sit-in from using a nearby washroom in the academic building, describing the move as a "basic denial of rights"."This had never happened before even during Covid by closing down our facilities," he claimed. Published - October 22, 2026 06:46 pm IST