A scuffle broke out between student groups over an event at the Kolkata's Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI). It is alleged that a verbal altercation, followed by clashes broke out between students and the organizers during a programme held by the ‘Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (West Bengal Chapter)’.
According to initial reports, an event was being held at the SRFTI auditorium. During the event, some students arrived and questioned the holding of such a program within the institute. The students alleged that individuals from a Hindutva organisation present at the event made inflammatory remarks; students of the institute were even labeled as "anti-nationals." Subsequently, an argument broke out between the two groups, and the situation escalated into a scuffle.
The students alleged that outsiders entered the campus and beat them up, hurling abuses and calling them "anti-nationals", "Naxalites", and "terrorists". On the other hand, the organizers counter-allege that they had rented the SRFTI hall by paying the required fee and were conducting their scheduled program when the students attacked them.
Similar incidents of campus violence: Massive protests at LPU over unverified rape report
After massive protests and vandalism over unverified rape report of a female student on Lovely Professional University (LPU) campus in Phagwara, Punjab, early Sunday morning, the university has debunked the news, terming it as "false, baseless and fabricated rumours". LPU Registrar Monica Gulati in a statement said, "it has come to the notice of the University that certain anti-social elements are spreading completely false, baseless and fabricated rumours through social media and other channels, thereby creating unnecessary confusion among students and attempting to disturb the peaceful academic environment of the university."
"The manner in which such false and misleading information is being systematically circulated appears to be a deliberate and concerted attempt to malign the reputation of the University and tarnish its image. The University categorically clarifies that there is no truth in the rumours presently being circulated. Students, parents and members of the public are requested not to believe, circulate or amplify such rumours. They should rely upon information communicated through official channels of the University only," it added.
The statement comes after a large number of students gathered on the LPU campus following a social media rumour on the alleged rape of a female student. They protested and vandalized the campus. The Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway was also blocked for some time.
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'Anti-social elements spreading rumours': LPU on massive protests over unverified rape report
