Kerala NEET candidate says she was asked to remove innerwear before entering exam hall

The girl, who took the test at the Mar Thoma Institute of Information and Technology in Ayur, Kollam, alleged that many other students were also forced to remove their innerwear, even though the dress code set by by the National Testing Agency, which conducts the examination for admission to medical school, does not mention any such requirement.

Kollam rural superintendent of police K B Ravi said, “We have got a complaint from the parent of a student. A police team has gone there to record the girl’s statement and register a case. Only after recording the student’s statement will we be able to say who is responsible for the incident,’’ he said.

A spokesperson for the college blamed the incident on the staff of the agency entrusted with frisking the candidates. “As many as 520 students were to take the NEET exam at our centre. We provided infrastructure facilities and our staff were the invigilators. There were four people from two agencies, one for frisking students and another for recording their biometric attendance. They were given separate areas for frisking. Neither the institute nor our staff members were involved in the frisking process. We came to know about the incident only on Monday,’’ said the spokesperson.

In his complaint to the police, the girl’s father wrote that when his daughter refused to remove her innerwear, she was asked not to sit for the exam. “It is not the case of my daughter alone. Many others faced the same situation. There were many others in that room who were weeping,’’ he wrote.

The complainant said the children faced mental torture owing to the “rude behaviour”. “Many students were removing the hooks. The mental state of these students was disturbed and they could not attend the exam with confidence. Their innerwear were put together at a storage room disregarding the Covid situation. When students initially refused to remove their innerwear, they faced the question whether their future or innerwear was more important for them,” read the complaint.

Meanwhile, Kerala Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu deplored the incident. “There is a serious lapse on the part of the agency and its staff (which frisked the girls). It is highly deplorable that such an approach has been taken towards girls without giving any consideration for their basic human rights. The State would take up its displeasure over the incident with the Union Government and the NTA,’’ said the minister.