A file photo of the SRFTI campus
Sneha Malakar, a student, told TOI that 25 days after the vandalism on the campus, authorities were yet to identify the perpetrators or lodge a complaint against them. Many faculty members TOI spoke to mentioned that the administration had taken no action against any defaulter despite the 24-hour deadline to vacate the campus by Saturday. Highlighting that only 17-18 out of the 70 students remaining on campus joined a recent protest march, he said the actual protesting count stood at around 20. “I was present on the campus on Oct 4.
But we will continue our sit-in protest till our demands are met,” Malakar said. VC Ajmera told TOI that while the administration respected students’ rights and peaceful protests, students “were expected to go back home and utilise this time constructively since holidays were declared”. Kapadia on Thursday shared a solidarity video, where she spoke about being “horrified” by the situation. Referring to the Sept 27 incident, she alleged some girls on the campus were “groped”. I urge the administration to act against those who are instigating the violence and not against their own students,” Kapadia said in the video. Chandan Goswami, EDM wing’s dean, urged director Kapadia to review student videos and graffiti before pointing fingers at the administration, cautioning, “let’s not fall into the trap of believing one-sided narratives”. The changing goalpost is problematic,” he said.
“The Wi-Fi is non-functional. The mess and canteen are shut. The administration has emailed our parents to pressure us into leaving under threat of disciplinary action. “No action has been taken against these goons. Instead students are facing rustication for questioning the administration… Since that day, no classes have taken place and recently, students have been served a notice to vacate the hostel and leave the campus. This is a very concerning matter as students’ safety is at stake. We understand the concern for students’ safety and security. Hence the security was stepped up. But once that was done, students started saying they did not want a campus that looked like a fort.