Students of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata have alleged a second Hindutva mob attack on their campus within a week, leaving two students hospitalized and several others injured. According to Kashmir Media Service, the Students' Union said activists of Hindu Jagran Mancha marching with saffron flags attacked the institute on Sunday, tore down photographs of B.R. Ambedkar and Gandhi displayed at the gate, pelted stones, threw bottles and attempted to break open the gate.

Union president Blossom Hazarika and vice president Shubham Waydande said the attack was carried out despite prior warnings to West Bengal police, institute administration and the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting about serious safety threats. The union accused police of inaction, saying officers watched as violence unfolded despite deployment warnings and that a Presidency University student mistaken for an SRFTI student was brutally beaten outside the campus and denied medical aid for over two hours.

This was the second attack after September 27 violence when students alleged knife and stone attacks by RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat members after they objected to a political event inside the publicly funded institute, leaving at least six students critically injured. Students of FTII Pune, SRFTI Kolkata and FTIII Itanagar had jointly written to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking protection and denial of permission for the rally near the campus. The union condemned "saffron terror in educational institutions" and demanded immediate protection and accountability from authorities.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)