Cops on the campus
We have given them 48 hours to reply,” Kumar said. Despite parents and students urging a rollback on rustication orders, the administration has also issued reminder emails to the six students rusticated on Oct 15, ordering them to vacate the hostel premises with all belongings or face administrative and legal action. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
On Friday, student union members again flagged concerns over surveillance and pointed out that Kolkata Police has deployed a “team of detectives on campus”. Adding to this, the personal bodyguards hired by the VC are also roaming around the hostel premises, raising further concerns among students about their privacy, safety and freedom within the campus,” the students said. Speaking about the fresh show-cause notices, SRFTI registrar Deepak Kumar told TOI that there have been multiple instances of defacement on campus for some time now. Show-cause notices, Kumar said, are part of “necessary disciplinary actions based on the identification of students” who were involved in defacement. Though no deadline has been given, they have been told that failure to comply with this direction shall invite appropriate administrative and legal action. Meanwhile, one concerned parent has written to the administration expressing distress at learning about the “crisis through media reports” rather than direct institutional communication. Their concerns too will be addressed in due course,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, SRFTI parents have issued a seven-day deadline demanding an independent inquiry headed by a retired HC judge and a meeting with a parent delegation, warning of legal action if the administration fails to respond or takes further measures against their children. “This team is moving around every corner of the campus, recording visuals without the consent of students and enquiring about the personal details of students and faculty members. A few of our female students have also expressed discomfort over these police personnel continuously staring at them. In the name of providing security to the VC, how safe and free is the campus for students in the presence of such a heavy police deployment? “The fact-finding committee mentioned in its report that ‘the defacements/writings on the walls are unparliamentary/provocative and likely to hurt public sentiments, cause breach of peace and disturb tranquility in the area’. All actions have been taken based on visual evidences that includes CCTV recordings and videos captured by security personnel of the institute that showed students defacing the walls with insulting and derogatory slogans which can trigger unrest. He asked the administration for some answers regarding the root cause of the incidents, who has been held responsible for it and the steps it has taken to ensure safety. He has urged SRFTI to extend an olive branch and resume the classes. The administration is keen that dialogue begins with parents, too. “Circulation of false narratives about power and water supply being cut is being irresponsibly spread. Power, water, and free Wi-Fi are all available at the hostel and across the campus. Power was disrupted after students allegedly broke the lock of the new CRT building. The mess is closed but the students’ canteen in the academic area is functional. We have received mails from some guardians, too. Download the TOI App.
Kolkata: On Friday, SRFTI issued show-cause notices to six students identified via visual evidence by the institute’s internal fact-finding committee and security personnel for defacing walls and writing provocative, insulting slogans against constitutional heads. The institute had constituted a committee to examine those, including the ones behind the defacement of the institute’s exterior walls on Sunday with provocative slogans against constitutional heads that had left the campus vulnerable to potential altercations over the weekend.