Students protesting at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata have alleged that they received rape threats on social media and that photographs and videos of them were being recorded on campus. They have approached Kolkata Police, filing a complaint by email with the cyber division, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin.
Police have reportedly begun investigating the complaint. The identity of the person or people allegedly behind the threats and recordings has not yet been established, and the investigation is examining the source of the online messages and the circumstances in which students were photographed or recorded.
The allegations were raised amid an ongoing dispute at the film institute. According to the report, the conflict began after an event on the campus on 27 September. Students alleged that they were assaulted and that outsiders had entered the institute. They subsequently began protesting and demanded the resignation of the vice-chancellor.
The institute administration, in turn, accused six students of misconduct against the vice-chancellor and vandalism, and expelled them. The authorities also ordered the closure of hostels and the mess, but students continued their protest despite the directive. The dispute has led to repeated tensions on the SRFTI campus.
At a meeting held on Saturday, protesting students also alleged that police personnel, security guards and unidentified individuals were taking their photographs and videos inside the campus. They said the alleged recordings had created fear among students. The report does not establish whether the people seen recording were acting under an authorised institutional or investigative process.
The students have accused the vice-chancellor of inaction and demanded intervention from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to resolve the deadlock. They said the protest would continue until their demands were addressed. The immediate official next step is the Kolkata Police cyber division’s investigation into the complaint, while the wider dispute over the expulsions, campus access, hostel and mess closures and the students’ demands remains unresolved.
