Student’s eviction from hostel triggers protest at FTII, Pune

Bhupendra Kainthola, FTII director said the students were found guilty of serious misconduct.

A third-year student of 2016 batch of art direction and production design, at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), was evicted on Friday at 8.30 pm from the hostel after he was suspended by the institute from all academic activities.

The student, Srinivas Rao Tamarala (27), spent the night outside the FTII gate with other students joining him in the protest. Rajashri Mujumdar, general secretary, FTII students association has extended support to Rao and has joined him outside the gate with other students.

Rao was the classmate of Manoj Kumar Verma, who was reported missing from the institute since January 13, 2019, and was later found at his home town in Varanasi. Rao and Manoj were suspended for alleged misbehaviour with Vikram Verma, associate professor and head of the art direction and production design department on December 19, 2018.

Bhupendra Kainthola, FTII director said the students were found guilty of serious misconduct.

“The head of the department had lodged a written complaint of misbehaviour against two students of the department. In view of the gravity of the offence, and after giving them sufficient time to apologise, both students were placed under suspension from academic activities pending an inquiry. The inquiry committee found both the students guilty of serious misconduct and recommended that one of them be let off with a warning after securing an apology,” Kainthola said.

He said that the inquiry committee had recommended severe punishment against Rao as he was a serial offender and had three previous cases of indiscipline against him.

The director said, “It was unfortunate but not unexpected that some student leaders, instead of persuading both the guilty students to apologise and mend their ways, were sitting in protest in their favour against the action taken.”

Rao protested against the action and said, that Kainthola and Verma did not respond to his written appeals sent on February 6 that he came from a poor background and had been punished adequately.

“I feel that I have been punished enough and have also lost one of the most important exercises of studio long take,” he said, adding that he did not commit any mistake by asking for equipment needed for the exercise. There was, therefore, no question of apologising as he had not done anything wrong.