SRFTI campus dispute: what is documented about the suspension, hostel order and student protests

A dispute between the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata and a group of its students has escalated over the past month, with the institute issuing disciplinary action and an order to vacate hostels, and students refusing to leave while demanding that safety concerns be addressed first. The sequence of documented administrative steps, and the gap between those steps and wider allegations circulating about the dispute, are outlined below.

What is documented

According to The Indian Express on 17 October 2026, SRFTI rusticated six students following a campus protest. The report states that the institute administration alleged manhandling and vandalism by the students involved, and that the action was characterised as disciplinary. Students dispute those allegations.

According to The Telegraph on 16 October 2026, the institute suspended Film and EDM academic activity until 13 November and ordered students to vacate hostels and campus within 24 hours.

Students did not comply. A Telegraph follow-up says they remained on campus and said they would not leave until safety concerns were addressed.

The New Indian Express reported on 23 October 2026 that the institute asked parents of protesting students to take them home, indicating the agitation continued a week after the suspension order.

Origins of the dispute

Reporting traces the standoff to a 27 September campus clash. Accounts are contested: the institute cited objectionable graffiti and alleged vandalism or manhandling as disciplinary grounds, while students frame their protest around safety measures and administrative accountability. Available reporting relays competing characterisations rather than an independently adjudicated account.

What has not been independently established

A reel/video transcript attributed to actor Naseeruddin Shah alleges political retaliation, surveillance and threats alongside the hostel order. It offers no documents or first-hand verification, and the reporting reviewed does not corroborate political direction, surveillance or threats. These remain unverified claims attributed to that source, not established fact. This report makes no claim that a political party directed or influenced SRFTI measures.

SRFTI official website was searched but no relevant public notice, statement, or court filing was retrievable in this reporting run. The institute position here is therefore based on reported characterisations, not a primary institutional statement.

Evidence limits

This account relies on contemporaneous reporting by The Indian Express, The Telegraph and The New Indian Express, plus a search of SRFTI official site. It has no direct interviews, court filings, or institute correspondence. Institute allegations and student or outside-commentator allegations are claims attributed to their sources, not independently adjudicated facts. The suspension to 13 November, 24-hour vacate order, six rustications and students refusal to leave are the most firmly documented elements; motives and wider conduct claims remain contested and unresolved.