Six-Member SIT Formed to Probe September 27 Clashes at Kolkata’s SRFTI

The SIT will be headed by Kolkata Police Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Kunal Agarwal and will examine the events leading up to the violence involving members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP) and students associated with the CPI(M)'s Students' Federation of India (SFI).

According to a notification issued by the state Home (Police) Department, the other members of the team are Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police's Detective Department Sparsha Nilangi, West Bengal Police Criminal Investigation Department Deputy Superintendent Koushik Ghosh, and Kolkata Police inspectors Salil Roy, Tusharkanti Ghosh and Hirak Dalpati.

The SIT has been formed following three separate FIRs registered at the Panchasayar Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the SRFTI campus. One complaint was filed by ABGP members, another by a section of SRFTI students, while the third case was registered suo motu by the police.

No arrests or detentions have been reported so far. The SIT has been directed to submit a preliminary report on the incident by October 1.

The team has also been authorised to seek additional personnel from the West Bengal Police or Kolkata Police if required during the investigation.

The clashes took place at around 1 p.m. on September 27 while an ABGP programme was underway on the SRFTI campus. According to accounts from the two sides, a group of SFI activists arrived at the venue and questioned the organisers about the event being held in the auditorium.

ABGP members alleged that the SFI activists disrupted the programme and tore down pictures and banners of Bharat Mata and Swami Vivekananda. The organisation also claimed that slogans of “Azadi” were raised during the confrontation.

SFI members, however, alleged that the SRFTI administration had allowed the ABGP event without informing them. They further accused the organisers of referring to them as “militants” and “Bangladeshis” and claimed that some SFI members were assaulted after objecting to the remarks.

ABGP members have maintained that they had obtained permission from the institute authorities to conduct the programme and accused the SFI activists of disrupting the event without provocation.

A large police contingent led by the concerned divisional Deputy Commissioner of Police reached the campus after receiving information about the clashes. Tensions reportedly remained high even after the police arrived, with further scuffles reported between students and event organisers.

Some students subsequently alleged that police personnel were recording the names and residential details of complainants rather than immediately acting against those they accused of involvement in the violence. The students expressed concerns about possible harassment and demanded that cases be registered against those responsible.

A section of students also staged a protest around a police vehicle as they pressed for action.

The SIT investigation is expected to examine the competing accounts, the circumstances surrounding the programme, the sequence of events that led to the clashes and the allegations made in the three FIRs.