FTII row: Students begin hunger strike, demand Gajendra Chauhan's removal

Three students of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) began an indefinite hunger strike on Thursday demanding removal of their newly-appointed chairman Gajendra Chauhan.

The students have been protesting against Chauhan's appointment for the last 90 days.

Abhijit Das, one of the faculty members, had last week joined the students' protest by sitting on a hunger strike in the campus premises. Three students Alok Arora, Hilal Sawaat and Himanshu Shekar joined Sen in his indefinite hunger strike today.

The students demanded that the Centre must hold talks with them to resolve the issue. They also sought the formation of a new appointment committee.

"Well in essence it has been what the students have been demanding for last 90 days is the dissolving of current society and formation of a committee which is going to look into norms and guidelines that needs to be set up before the appointment of people in the FTII society," said Vikas Urs, the representative of the students' association.

Last month, a three-member team of the Information and Broadcasting ministry had met students and staff members to resolve the issue.