Clashes erupted at Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) on Sunday late afternoon after a group of students objected to a right-wing group’s event on the campus, leaving several people injured.A large number of police personnel have been deployed as the students locked the gate of the campus with a protesting mob outside.The students’ union of the SRFTI said that when they objected to the programme organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), an RSS-linked outfit, at the main theatre on the campus, they were assaulted and called “anti-nationals”, urban naxals and terrorists, leading to a scuffle.“Members of the ABGP attacked students, including women students, punched and kicked them, and pelted stones and bricks at them. Students were chased through the campus, including students who were not part of the protest and were simply carrying out their academic work. Several students took shelter inside the library. The group followed them there, and the librarian was also assaulted. The library was surrounded, leaving students and staff in a situation of fear inside their own institute,” the students’ union said in a statement.The students alleged that a mob from outside tried to barge into the campus and pelted stones and bottles inside.“We had just gone to tell them to remove the banners, but they abused us, called us jehadis, Naxals, Maoists and terrorists. They assaulted us. Around 15 of us have been injured,” said a student at SRFTI.According to official sources, the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat had booked the auditorium on the campus for an “awareness” programme. They had put up posters and banners in the auditorium. But it has been alleged that the ABGP had installed banners and festoons around the campus, leading to the scuffle.Story continues below this ad“It began as a verbal spat after a group of students from the college objected to the banners, and it has been alleged that the students tore the banners,” said an official.Basudeb Paul, a member of AGBP, said, “We were holding the programme when the students came and started to tear the banners and festoons. They stepped on the posters of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda. We told them to stop tearing the banners. They abused our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Chief Minister (Suvendu Adhikari), and started shouting slogans against the BJP. This was completely pre-planned. These people are want to turn SRFTI into another Jadavpur.”Meanwhile, several local BJP leaders reached the institute and held protested outside, demanding the arrest of students. The crowd outside the campus gate also stopped the ambulance, carrying the injured students, from leaving. The police had to intervene to allow the ambulance to leave for the hospital.Debanjan Dey, the state secretary of the Left-backed SFI, said, “The way RSS attacked the JU, in the same manner they are attacking SRFTI now. No one knows how the RSS-backed outfit got permission to hold the event on Sunday. This is a systematic terror. Each and every free-thinking institution is being attacked.”Story continues below this adSpeaking to mediapersons, BJP MP Rahul Sinha said, “By creating such a chaos they are trying to bring a bad name to West Bengal. Such acts will not be tolerated in any educational institution. Even in Jadavpur University (JU), they tried to create unrest.”RSS students’ outfit, the ABVP, however, distanced itself from the incident. The ABVP is not associated with this matter. Whatever has happened there, the police will investigate,” said ABVP state in-charge Ananta Barui.