‘Humiliated when told to remove bra before NEET’

Authorities allegedly forced a 17-year-old student to remove her bra in north Kerala’s Kannur as part of stringent measures to stop cheating and irregularities in the national medical entrance examination on Sunday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Authorities allegedly forced a 17-year-old student to remove her bra in north Kerala’s Kannur as part of stringent measures to stop cheating and irregularities in the national medical entrance examination on Sunday.

The woman told HT she was wearing a bra with a steel buckle that caused a metal detector installed outside the examination centre to beep when she reached at 9.20am on Sunday. With 10 minutes to go for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET), she said she was asked to remove the inner wear. “Since there was no toilet nearby, I removed it there itself and gave it to my mother,” she said.

Kannur district collector Mir Mohamed Ali said he would look into the incident. State human rights commission member J Prameela Devi also criticised the incident and sought details. The State Human Rights Commission has filed a case and also sought an explanation from CBSE regional director here.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan said a civilised society cannot accept the act. “The frisking of female candidates and removing their inner wear in the name of dress code was a violation of human rights. It should not have been happened,” he said on Facebook.

Authorities deployed huge police teams, physical frisking of candidates and a strict dress code to check cheating for the exam. Dark-coloured clothes, fullsleeve shirts, closed shoes and big buttons were banned too.

But many students criticised the preparations, which they say turned the exam centre into a war zone. “It is sad some officials take sadistic pleasure in the name of discipline. It is nothing but sheer ignorance that is forcing some of them to take such nasty actions. Such officials should be taken out of their assignment immediately,” said the father of the student, adding that he was planning to complain against authorities.

The woman said the humiliating incident made her more nervous during the exam and that many of her friends also suffered similar diktats but remained silent fearing stigma.