'Slashed, Beaten, Head Split Open': Kolkata Film School Students on Mob Attack

SRFTI students claim they did not try to stop the event. They only wanted to lodge their protest against it.

SRFTI students claim that they did not try to stop the event but had simply gone there to inquire and lodge their own protest against the organisation of such an event.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Mahesh (name changed), 24, was born to an Adivasi family in a remote village in Dooars district in northern West Bengal. After passing the rigorous screening process, Mahesh beat hundreds of other students to get a seat at the academic table of the esteemed Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata, where he currently studies direction and screenplay writing, inching closer to his dream of becoming a filmmaker.

But, on Sunday, 27 September, Mahesh felt like he was himself transported into a movie. 

“It felt like a bad film plot, where the villains are chasing a defenceless person—he somehow runs inside his hostel and bangs on different doors until one door opens and [the person on the other side] offers him shelter, potentially saving his life. That’s what happened,” Mahesh recounted to The Quint.

It was only once he was safely inside the room of a fellow student that he realised that his back was bleeding.

“I had been slashed with a knife-like sharp object. I asked the senior who had sheltered me to take a photo. I was devastated just looking at it. The doctors later told me the wound was six inches long,” he added.

The image has since become viral on social media, garnering attention and condemnation from across the country.

Mahesh on SRFTI campus, two days after the attack [left].

(Photo: Rakhi Bose/Special Arrangement/The Quint)

"I come from a rural area with several security concerns... I thought SRFTI was a safe space. But what happened on Sunday was a reminder of the reality of the country we are currently living in, where no one is safe."

Mahesh

Retracing the Violence

The violence broke out after some students on campus, including members of the SRFTI Student Union, objected to an “awareness-cum-organisational” event held by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) inside the Main Theatre of the institute. Essentially a consumer forum, the ABGP is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

On Sunday, a number of ABGP members and supporters, including women and children, arrived on campus in private vehicles and a bus.

They put up posters of their event (one of which carried a picture of Swami Vivekananda and an image of Bharat Mata) at the venue. They had received permission for hosting the event at the Main Theatre, an auditorium inside the SRFTI campus. 

“It was a pre-planned event, and we had informed the authorities concerned. The students came and disrupted the function and started the scuffle,” a member of ABGP alleged. A copy of the letter seeking permission has been accessed by The Quint.

The ABGP further alleged that the students came and threatened the party, which was hosting a “peaceful annual event”. It also claimed that they tore up a Swami Vivekananda’s poster, leading to anger among the ABGP members. 

Students, however, claim that they did not try to stop the event but had simply gone there to inquire and lodge their own protest against the organisation of such an event. “We were not tearing posters. We were putting up our own,” Blossom, who's the SRFTI Student Union president, said.

“The Student Union and the student body were not informed about the event before permission was granted. A similar event had also reportedly taken place on campus a few months ago without the knowledge of the students,” the Student Union said in an initial statement. They also shared videos of students being kicked and manhandled inside the auditorium.

“You can see who physically attacked whom first. The persistent harassment and violence against students has all been recorded."

Blossom, President, SRFTI Student Union

“We started receiving complaints on the students’ general body group against the hosting of an event by an RSS-backed consumer forum on our campus. The main contention was, why would a consumer grievances body hold its annual event in a film school? What has this venue got to do with their work? We were not against the group. We were questioning the administration on how permission for such an event was given in the first place,” Blossom and other Student Union members told The Quint.

At around 2 pm, students went to the Main Theatre to put up posters questioning the institute’s decision to allow such an event to take place. As per the student body, the ABGP members present at the venue confronted the students and attempted to remove them from the theatre. “Students were verbally abused, including being called “anti-national” and “cockroaches”, they alleged.

Members of the group then allegedly attacked students, including women, using punches, kicks, stones, bricks, sticks, and other objects.

“Students were chased through the campus, including students who were not part of the protest and were simply carrying out their academic work,” Sarang, a third-year student from the cinematography department at SRFTI, told The Quint.

Originally from Kerala, Sarang alleges he was beaten by the mob, thrown on the ground, kicked, and punched. He sports a patch of bandage on the left side of his head, where he received a head injury from the assault.

“I don’t even know whether I was hit or I hit my head on the ground when they threw me there. Some seniors and staff intervened and saved me. For a second, I thought I might die here today. It was after they saved me from the attackers that I realised my head was bleeding.”

Sarang got injured on the head.

(Photo: Rakhi Bose/Special Arrangement/The Quint)

In time, many sought shelter inside the library. The group followed them there, and the librarian was also assaulted. “The library was surrounded, leaving students and staff in a situation of fear inside their own institute. Students were also chased, their clothes were torn, and there were incidents of phones being forcibly taken. I myself lost my phone. Violence was directed at students across the campus, not merely at those who had put up the posters,” Sarang told The Quint.

Poorvi, another student, alleged that women were also assaulted and humiliated, including herself.

“I was pushed from the front in the chest. Several others were also jostled around and manhandled by men, many of whom were much older than us. They repeatedly hurled threats like “we will hang all of you till you die” and other expletives and sexually abusive cusses."

At least 25 students were taken to Desun Hospital; two were admitted for further treatment and surgery, including a student who underwent a cosmetic surgery procedure following severe head injuries. Many others received preliminary first aid on the campus itself. Videos of profusely bleeding students have been shared widely on social media.

Mahesh recounted, "I am a film student, so I instinctively started filming. The footages have helped us tell the world the truth, despite attempts by the right-wing ecosystem. including certain media channels, to portray the students to be at fault.”

The Student Union subsequently alerted the student body and students gathered at the Main Theatre. The ABGP members were driven out of the theatre. The police were alerted and reached the institute following the violence.

And yet, the situation escalated and violence continued late into the evening, with a mob of outsiders gathered outside the institute gate, attempting to enter the campus and hurling stones and bottles towards students inside. Videos of them abusing and threatening students from outside the gate can be seen on social media. 

“Our question is, how did the mob gather so quickly? The fact that a mob was just waiting to enter the campus within just about an hour or two of an altercation points to a more strategic plan to attack the campus.”

Sarang

Conflicting Narratives

The Panchasayar Police have so far registered three separate FIRs (accessed by The Quint), two of which are against "unknown persons". According to police sources, a complaint was filed by the authorities the same day. The FIR was lodged by Sukanta Majumder who's the Dean-Film at SRFTI. The second FIR was filed on behalf of Anjan Sinha, an ABGP and member the Bengal chapter head. The third FIR was registered suo motu by the police, filed by Koushick Bose, Additional Officer-in-Charge of the Panchasayar police station. 

However, no arrests had been made till Tuesday evening, as per sources in Lalbazar Police Station.

Protests on SRFTI campus following Sunday's violence.

(Photo: Rakhi Bose/Special Arrangement/The Quint)

A police source told The Quint that the campus was under strict vigilance of police, with several personnel posted outside the gates.

He also said, “The cases are being investigated.” A police personnel posted outside the campus said cops reached the venue on Sunday soon after receiving word from students. They then attempted to disperse the crowd.

Meanwhile, the political response by the West Bengal government has been to largely ignore the issue, with some leaders doubling down on the  SRFTI administration’s prerogative to give permission to host any event to any group.

“SRFTI is a Central government-run institute. No anti-national activities or insult to Bharat Mata will be tolerated here,” Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagannath Chattopadhyay said.

Spokesperson Debjijt Sarkar called the protesting students “Dimagi Naxals" and "Urban Naxals" in his social media posts and videos. Speaking to The Quint, he reiterated the ABGP’s claim that students stormed a programme organised by a “nationalist organisation”, and allegedly raised slogans and tore down posters of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda.”

“How long will such open disrespect for Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda be tolerated by society?"

Debjijt Sarkar

Students, however, said poster-tearing is being highlighted to give a religious spin to the violence. “The posters were removed once the ABGP event was already cancelled following the scuffles,” a student body member said.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday evening, SRFTI Vice Chancellor Santosh Ajmera said,

“Such incidents should not happen in any educational institute. SRFTI is one of the most premier education institutions in the country. No student here wants any kind of violence... they are here to study. Students have conveyed to me that the did not start the violence. We are taking all measures, along with the faculty, student bodies, police, and all bodies concerned to ensure safety is maintained.”

Students, however, said their demands have not been met by the administration. In protest, they have implemented an academic boycott until then. “All our faces are plastered on social media. We have been getting death and rape threats. The police’s cybercrime department has assured us help but students are bound to still be scared. We have requested for rooms in SRFTI’s guest house be allotted to students from outside [of Kolkata] who live in nearby rented places or PGs... they are feeling unsafe,” Blossom, who studies in the sound engineering department, said.

The Quint has reached out to the VC and the Registrar of SRFTI over phone and email, but has not yet received a response. 

Artists, Activists Condemn 'Pattern of Targeted Attacks'

The incident has led to widespread criticism from the film fraternity. Over 90 artists and filmmakers, including Varun Grover, Q, Ronny Sen, and Payal Kapadia, have issued a statement, jointly expressing their solidarity with the students and giving a call for strict and impartial investigation into the incident.

“Such violence, humiliation and intimidation cannot be allowed to take place with State sanction in a functioning democracy,” their statement read.

The artists have further demanded transparency around the use of institutional spaces. “SRFTI and other publicly funded educational institutions must have clear, transparent protocols governing the use of their campuses by external organisations, particularly where such events may have implications for the safety or functioning of the student community,” they noted.

Kasturi Basu speaking at SRFTI.

(Photo: Rakhi Bose/The Quint)

Emmy-nominated filmmaker Ronny Sen told The Quint that this was not only a Bengal story.

“We’ve been seeing students being brutally beaten and attacked across India, from the libraries of Jamia in December 2019 to what has happened here at SRFTI. What is different now is the total impunity. It appears that the State has successfully communicated to the mob that there will be no consequences for this kind of violence.”

The attack on SRFTI comes amid a spate of attacks on universities and colleges across Bengal, attributed to the Hindutva-affiliated organisations. Just last month, students at Jadavpur University faced violence when a mob of outsiders and members associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly assaulted them, hurled abuses, and set flags on fire. While FIRs had been lodged in the case—and the persons caught on CCTV and mobile camera footage identified by media reports—no arrests have yet been made.

In fact, just days after the violence, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari held a Vande-Mataram-singing event outside the JU gates, wherein he congratulated the ABVP for the work they were doing.

On 21 August, Midnapore College, too, saw unrest when ABVP members clashed with students from Left-leaning groups, leaving 25 people injured, during a campus protest against the violence in JU. Presidency University saw a similar case of unrest.

Sen states,

“When a mob can enter an educational institution and attack students with that sense of confidence, it is a terrifying breakdown of the rule of law. It feels like a total takeover by the mob. These institutions belong to students, and they must remain spaces where people are free to question, dissent and think independently.”

Kasturi Basu, founder of Kolkata-based People's Film Collective and co-organiser of the Kolkata People's Film Festival, pointed out that the government was growing increasingly uneasy with allowing artists to make art that does not align with the political ideology of the ruling party.

"All fascist or censorious regimes first turn on art, films and film schools in a bid to nip dissent in the bud. They know spaces like SRFTI nurture critical thinking."

Basu was among the artists, musicians, poets, students, activists and educators, who gathered at the SRFTI campus on Tuesday evening, in solidarity with the students of the institute. Under the watchful gaze of both Swami Vivekananda and BR Ambedkar, Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, the protesters invoked the spirit of the films and thematic choices of cinema’s greats. Songs from Ray’s films like Hirak Rajar Deshe, a political anti-fascist satire, were sung from a makeshift stage as students cheered on and chanted slogans for ‘Jai Bhim’ and ‘Inquilab Zindabad’. 

A student, speaking at the protests, said this was the first time in two days that she had been able to “breathe freely”.

“The attacks we witnessed, the words we heard, the gestures they made at us… It is very hard to forget that trauma.”