5 arrested in connection with NEET centre innerwear removal case

KOLLAM: Five people were arrested in connection with an alleged incident in which a student was asked to remove her innerwear before appearing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) in the state’s Kollam district.

The arrested people include three from the agency and two from the college.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kerala police registered a case in this matter. A case was registered under sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code at the Chadayamangalam police station under the Kollam Rural police district.

The incident came to light after a student filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police at Kollam after the NEET exam for undergraduate medical courses on July 18, In her complaint, the student alleged that she was asked to remove her innerwear before entering the examination hall.

Reportedly, the parent of the student alleged that girls were forced to remove their innerwear before being permitted to sit for the exam and they had to give the exam along with other students who were boys as well as male invigilators, which made the girls uncomfortable affected them mentally.

“My daughter has been preparing for the NEET exam since 8th grade. We were confident that she would achieve a good rank on the test but due to this issue she was unable to concentrate and couldn’t properly write the exam,” a student’s father told ANI.

Citing the National Testing Agency’s guidelines, the parent also highlighted that according to the norms mandated by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET had not mentioned any ban on any form of brassiere (bra) and hooks’.

“They were very uncomfortable. The guideline issued by NTA had not mentioned any ban on bras and hooks. We were following all guidelines. But the staff did not allow them to enter the classroom without removing inner-wear,” he added.

Meanwhile, the NTA an autonomous and self-sustained testing organization for conducting entrance examinations in a statement said that the exam centre’s superintendent, the independent observer, as well as city coordinator (NEET) of the Kollam district, did not find any such incident happening at the examination centre.

“Centre Superintendent and Independent Observer as well as City Coordinator, Kollam district has stated that they did not find any such incident happening in the NEET examination centre (Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology, Kollam). The candidate did take the exam,” said NTA officials.

Later, NTA formed a Fact Finding Committee to visit Kollam following an alleged incident in which a student was asked to remove her innerwear before appearing for NEET.