Police register three FIRs after clash at Kolkata film institute

Three First Information Reports have been registered after violence at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata, where students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat clashed during an event. The incident took place on September 27 after the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, or ABGP, held a programme in an auditorium on the institute campus. Students protested outside after learning about the event, and some entered the venue, where slogans were raised and posters and banners were reportedly targeted.

Both sides blamed each other for the violence, which continued for several hours. Some students and faculty members were injured, and Kolkata Police sent a large contingent, including senior officers, to control the situation. The ABGP said it had booked the auditorium and paid a fee.

Its representatives said they would seek a refund because the event was disrupted. Students questioned why an organisation not connected with cinema or filmmaking had been allowed to use the main auditorium. The three FIRs were filed at Panchasayar police station.

One followed a complaint from SRFTI dean Sukanta Majumder, another from Anjan Sinha, the ABGP’s West Bengal provincial head, and the third from a police officer involved in the response. The complaints contain competing allegations. The dean alleged that students wrongfully restrained students and faculty members and caused hurt.

The police complaint alleged that students used force against officers and hindered them in their duties. Sinha alleged that students restrained, abused and insulted ABGP members inside the hall. Students protested at the institute gate on September 28.

Alumni and filmmakers expressed support for them, while the alumni association called for justice, accountability and protection of the institute’s academic and creative environment. No arrests had been made, according to the material.