Amid the ongoing clamour surrounding the protest by Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) students at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, former students of the institute have appealed to the government to intervene to resolve the issue and ensure the students' safety and security during the 46th edition of the prestigious festival.

A statement by ex-students of the Pune-based FTII and FTII Students' Association on Sunday emphasised that the IFFI is an important "academic activity" for students, and they should not be deprived of it.

"The students of FTII are being victimised and forced to miss screenings at IFFI. IFFI is an academic activity which is crucial to a student's learning. Having created all possible obstacles to stop students from taking part in IFFI, the director of FTII is responsible for the students at IFFI," the statement read.

"The ex-students and the students association appeal to the director to immediately intervene and resolve and free students from all such discrimination. The students are participating with valid authorisation and are representing the FTII. They need to be respected and treated with utmost dignity."

This comes after two former FTII students were arrested for protesting over the appointment of actor and BJP member Gajendra Chauhan at the inaugural venue of the 11-day film gala in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar.

In another instance, Ashutosh, an FTII student, also claimed he was detained by the police on Saturday for wearing a T-shirt with the FTII logo.

The statement further read: "Also we, the ex-students and the students of FTII, appeal to the ministry to stop victimising the students and ensure their safety and security during the duration of the festival. We unequivocally condemn the police action and harassment of ex-students, independent filmmakers and the students for trying to reach out with the concerns."

FTII students staged a 139-day strike from June 12 in protest against the appointment of Chauhan as the institute director, claiming he lacked credentials for the position.

They later called off the strike saying their opposition over the appointment would continue in a "democratic way".