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SRFTI campus closure extended till December 11 amid student protest
The institute has been witnessing protests following alleged attacks on students during an RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat event on the campus.
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Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute authorities have extended campus closure till December 11, while the protesting students accused the administration of adopting coercive measures instead of resolving the crisis.
The institute has been witnessing protests since September 27 following alleged attacks on students during an RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat event on the campus.
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The stir intensified after a second alleged attack on October 4 during a rally by Bangiya Hindu Jagran Manch, prompting students to hold sit-ins on campus over concerns for safety, privacy and freedom of movement.
With no let-up in tensions on campus, the institute suspended its academic activities in its film and electronic and digital media (EDM) wings on October 16 and directed all students to vacate the premises within 24 hours.
On Thursday, a senior SRFTI official said the campus closure order has been extended.
"The situation was reviewed in consultation with deans of both films and EDM wings, following which the campus closure order was extended till December 11," the official told PTI.
The extension of campus closure intensified tensions on the campus, with students alleging that the "authorities were resorting to collective punishment and taking action against faculty members and resource persons" supporting their academic activities.
Students claimed that a faculty member has been served a show-cause notice for allegedly facilitating the entry of renowned cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Ranjan Palit onto the campus to conduct a workshop.
According to the protesting students, the administration has so far "terminated two contractual faculty members and discontinued the services of five resource persons". On the other hand, officials alleged that a handful of agitating students were driven by "outside elements and politicising the issue".
In a statement, the students alleged that along with the suspension of academic activities, they had been deprived of necessities, including food, drinking water, electricity and Wi-Fi. "Students are being forced to live and continue their education under conditions that are neither acceptable nor conducive to their safety, dignity and well-being," it said.
They demanded accountability from the institute authorities for the unprecedented situation, besides immediate restoration of normal academic and campus life.
The SRFTI authorities have maintained that security measures were necessary following allegations of intimidation, physical abuse and vandalism, and accused protesting students of continuing to occupy hostel facilities despite instructions to vacate them.
