Several students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute have been served show-cause notices over an alleged assault on a security officer, deepening a dispute over campus safety that has already disrupted classes and academic work at the Kolkata institute.
The students have been given 48 hours from receiving their individual notices to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against them. The notices were issued after a security officer complained that a student occupying the vice-chancellor’s office had allegedly pushed and assaulted him while being asked to leave.
According to one notice cited in the report, the student allegedly entered the vice-chancellor’s chamber despite being asked to vacate, used abusive language and threatened the officer. The notice said the alleged conduct could attract provisions under Clause 3.2 (i) of the institute’s academic bylaws. It warned that if the student did not respond within the stipulated period, the matter could be considered on the basis of available records and material.
SRFTI vice-chancellor Santosh Ajmera said notices had to be issued after the security officer submitted a complaint. “If I receive a complaint from my security officer about being assaulted by students because he asked them to vacate the VC’s office, notices have to be issued to those who stand accused of the assault. This is standard procedure. Let them reply by the deadline,” he said.
The notices came a day after the students declined to resume regular classes from October 7 despite an order from the deans. The students said they would not return until their concerns about safety and security were addressed. They have been boycotting theoretical classes since September 28, following alleged assaults by supporters of the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat at the institute on September 27.
The students’ union has said the incidents created an environment in which students could not attend classes, shoot films or complete their academic work normally. In a letter to Ajmera, the union said students were facing continuing mental stress and anxiety over the possibility of another attack. The students also alleged that members of the Hindu Jagran Manch tried to storm the campus gates and threw stones and water bottles at students on October 4, despite the administration being alerted.
The administration has disputed neither the existence of the security concerns nor the disciplinary process described in the notices. Ajmera said the campus security situation had substantially improved after the campus was surrounded by layers of barricades and police personnel from October 5. He said students needed to return to classes and warned that those who failed to meet the required attendance percentage would not be allowed to sit for their semester examinations.
A scheduled meeting between student-union representatives and the vice-chancellor did not take place. Ajmera said one student attended classes on Thursday and that more students were expected to return on Friday. The immediate institutional process now depends on the students’ responses to the show-cause notices and any further action under the institute’s academic bylaws.
