Around 30 students and two faculty members of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) were injured yesterday (27th September) after a protest over an event organised by RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) at the institute’s Jadavpur campus escalated into a clash.
One version is that students attacked the programme, shouted ‘Go back RSS’ slogans, tore posters and kicked posters bearing images of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda. They were against allowing a consumer organisation to hold its event there. Another version has it that members of the outfit chased and assaulted students and threw bricks at them. They are also said to have used communal and abusive slurs against students and targeted women. It is reported that the outfit members made obscene gestures at female students and threatened them with rape. Two faculty members were also allegedly assaulted.
Twenty-five students were taken to the hospital. While two had to be hospitalised, the others were discharged after first aid was administered.
Both the sides accused police of inaction. Three FIRs were filed late in the evening. While two FIRs were based on ABGP’s complaint, one was filed on the basis of SRFTI students.
