Agitating students indulged in violence and kept him hostage, alleges Prashant Pathrabe

Prashant Pathrabe, the Director of the Fim and Television Institute of India (FTII) has alleged that the agitating students of FTII had indulged in violence and had kept him hostage in his office, following which he filed a complaint with the police.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday after the police arrested five FTII students; Pathrabe claimed that he was kept as a hostage for 7 to 8 hours in his office by the students. “I had called six students for discussions on the issue of assessment of films made by the 2008 batch students. However around 40 students entered in to my cabin unauthorisedly. They broke the telephone wire and also broke the furniture in my office. I was prevented from calling the police for help.”said Pathrabe.

He further claimed that he was ‘insulted’ by the students. “ They humiliated me, I had no option but to file a police complaint.”sa 7 hoursid Pathrabe.

The FTII Director said that the students had been given ample time to complete their projects for assessment however the students decided to use violence against him. The assessment of the projects for the 2008 batch students has however been stalled for now. On Wednesday morning, the Pune police arrested five FTII students for rioting and other sections. The FTII students are protesting for more than two months against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as FTII chairman.