Naked assault on dignity of girl students, says Kerala govt after aspirants asked to remove bra before NEET exam

Kollam: Angry over the incident of medical aspirants appearing for the NEET examination asked to remove their undergarments before taking the entrance test at an centre in Ayur town of Kollam, the Kerala government wrote a letter to the Union Education minister demanding strong action against the agency.      In a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu expressed “dismay and shock” at the news of “naked assault on the dignity and honour of the girl students” who appeared for NEET examination in an exam centre at Ayur in that district on Sunday. She said that an agency that has been entrusted with the conduct of the examination allegedly forced the girl students to strip before entering the test centre for reasons known only to themselves. The incident came to light after a 17-year-old medical aspirant, who was appearing for the medical entrance test for the first time and was panicked, was asked to sit for over 3-hour-long exam removing her bra. The girl informed that one of the invigilators at the centre told her to either remove her bra or not write the exam. “The shame and shock of this unexpected turn of events have affected the morale and composure of the students whose performance in the test was consequently affected,” she said. The minister also strongly recommended action against the agency to prevent future occurrences of a similar nature and sought the Union Minister’s intervention in the matter. Also Read: NEET exam 2022: Kerala Police register case against friskers who forced girls to remove undergarments “I write to place on record that we take strong exception to such inhuman behaviour from an agency that has only been entrusted with the task of conducting the examination in a fair manner”, the minister said. Protests in Kerala Various student outfits in Ayur town in Kollam district of Kerala Tuesday carried out protest marches towards a private educational institute where girl students appearing for NEET were forced to remove their innerwear turned violent. According to reports, agitating student activists alongwith other pupils barged into the college premises and allegedly smashed the windows of the institute using sticks. Police tried to control the youngsters causing vandalism and ultimately had to use force to remove them. Reports said that some student activists have suffered wounds in the police action. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has written a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking strong against the agency, which allegedly forced girl students to remove their undergarments before entering a National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) examination centre at Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology, Ayur, in Kollam district. What happened in NEET exam centre in Kerala? On Monday, father of a 17-year-old girl told media that his daughter, who was sitting for her first-ever NEET examination, was yet to come out of the harrowing experience wherein she was asked to sit for over 3-hour-long exam removing her bra. Talking to the media, Gopakumar Sooranad (father of the girl) said that his daughter was wearing the outfit as per the dress code mentioned in the NEET bulletin. He also said that there was nothing specified about innerwear. The father said that after his daughter had entered the examination centre, he and his wife were about to have their lunch when they received a call from the institute, asking them to come to the gate of the centre. Must Read: No bras allowed? Why NEET aspirants were asked to remove innerwear in Kerala When they arrived at the gate, they saw their daughter in tears. “She said that she and other girls were being asked to remove part of their inner wear and asked for a shawl to wear during the test,” the father said. He went on to add that his wife gave their daughter a shawl and she went back inside. “We thought that was that. However, after the exam, my daughter returned still looking distressed and broke into tears in my wife’s arms. On the way home she told us what had transpired during the test. It was startling,” he added. “There were two rooms where undergarments of young women and girls were stacked on top of each other in violation of COVID-19 protocols. Those writing the exams are between the age groups of 17 to 23. Imagine how uncomfortable it would be for them to concentrate during the exam when surrounded by male students as well,” the father said. The family then lodged a complaint with Kottarakkara Deputy Superintendent of Police’s office. Police registers case against friskers On the basis of the complaint of the girl, Kerala Police, on Tuesday, registered a case against friskers who asked the medical aspirant to remove undergarments to be allowed to write the exam. On the basis of the complaint, a case has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). The case was registered after a team of women officers recorded the statement of the girl. Police said that an investigation has been launched and the friskers allegedly involved in the act would be arrested soon. 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