Classes at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) have been suspended until 13 November as a student protest over campus safety, hostel issues and the removal of Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera continues in Kolkata. Hostel residents have also been directed to leave the campus within 24 hours, while mess services have been stopped.
The institute has expelled six students. According to the report, the students have been accused of physically assaulting the vice-chancellor and other officials, vandalising the vice-chancellor’s office and writing offensive graffiti on campus walls. The vice-chancellor has said the disciplinary action followed alleged rule violations and the reported attack on his office.
The dispute began after a clash between students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat inside the campus on 27 September. Students subsequently sought to prevent outsiders from entering the institute and began boycotting classes, demanding adequate security. The situation became more tense on 4 October after a protest by another Hindutva organisation outside the campus gate.
Following those developments, students began a sit-in outside the administrative building, demanding the vice-chancellor’s removal. The protest was continuing during the festival period, with students stating that their agitation would continue through the Puja holidays. The students have also demanded an impartial investigation into the campus incident and the filing of first information reports against those they identify as responsible.
Students have alleged that the administration is attempting to suppress the movement instead of addressing the reported campus attack, security concerns, hostel shortage and complaints of discrimination. The students’ union representing those expelled said the protest had remained peaceful and democratic for 18 days. It also said the expelled students were preparing to pursue legal action against what it described as unilateral and punitive orders.
The conflict has disrupted the institute’s academic and residential arrangements at a time when students remain divided from the administration over who should be held responsible for the campus incidents. The immediate measures announced by the institute include the suspension of teaching until 13 November, the direction for hostel residents to leave within 24 hours and the closure of mess services. The student movement is expected to continue during the Puja period, while the expelled students prepare their legal challenge.
