Kolkata, Sep 30 (IANS): A six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to probe the instances of violent clashes that broke out at the campus of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) between members of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) and other students on September 27, which left several people injured.
The six-member team will be headed by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) of Kolkata Police, Kunal Agarwal. The SIT members will conduct a thorough investigation into what happened on the SRFTI campus and what prompted the clashes between the students associated with CPI(M)’s SFI and ABGP.
As per the notification issued by the state Home (police) Department regarding the formation of the SIT to probe the matter, apart from Agarwal, the other five members of the SIT will include Deputy Commissioner (Detective Department of Kolkata Police, Sparsha Nilangi; Deputy Superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department of West Bengal Police, Koushik Ghosh, Salil Roy, Tusharkanti Ghosh and Hirak Dalpati, the last three being Inspector-ranking officer attached to Kolkata Police.
In the notification, it has been further claimed that the SIT was formed on the basis of three separate FIRs registered at Panchasayar Police Station under the East Division of the Kolkata Police, under whose jurisdiction SRFTI comes.
Of the three FIRs, one has been filed by the ABGP members and the second by a section of students of SRFTI. The third FIR has been registered suo motu by the police. No one has been detained or arrested so far. The SIT will submit its preliminary report on the matter on October 1.
In the notification, the officer heading the SIT has been vested with the authority to seek additional manpower, either from West Bengal Police or the Kolkata Police, for the investigation, if necessary.
The violence broke out within the SRFTI campus on Sunday at around 1 p.m, when the ABGP programme was underway there, and a group of activists belonging to the SFI arrived at the venue.
SFI activists reportedly questioned the organisers about holding the programme in the auditorium. The organisers accused the SFI activists of tearing down the pictures and banners of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda.
However, the SFI activists claimed that the SRFTI management permitted ABGP to hold the programme without informing them. They also accused the organisers of calling them “militants” and “Bangladeshis”. They claimed that the SFI members were assaulted for protesting against this.
On the other hand, ABGP accused the SFI activists of disrupting their programme without any provocation. They alleged that SFI members raised “Azadi” slogans. ABGP also claimed that they had permission from the authorities to hold the programme.
A large police force, led by the concerned divisional Deputy Commissioner of Police, rushed to the spot after receiving information about the clashes. Tensions escalated further in the presence of the police, with reports of scuffles involving students and event organisers.
Some students also accused the police of recording the names and residential details of complainants instead of taking immediate action against those responsible for the violence. They expressed fear of possible harassment and demanded the immediate registration of cases against the accused. A section of students staged a protest around a police vehicle in support of their demands.
