No girl asked to remove innerwear at NEET centre: Official tells NTA

The police complaint about a girl in Kerala asked to remove innerwear before appearing for medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is 'fictitious' and has been filed with 'wrong intentions', the exam centre's superintendent has told the National Testing Agency (NTA).

According to the NTA officials, no complaint has been received by them in this regard.

The father of the 17-year-old girl in Kerala's Kollam district, who has lodged a police complaint and intends to move the Human Rights Commission also, told a TV channel that his daughter had followed the dress code mentioned in the NEET bulletin which does not state anything about innerwear and she was asked to remove it to be allowed to write the exam.

The Kerala police has registered a case against the friskers allegedly involved in the incident on the basis of the complaint.

'No complaint or representation has been received by us. On basis of claims in media reports, an immediate report was sought from the centre superintendent and observer.

'They have informed that no such incident took place and the complaint is fictitious and has been filed with wrong intentions,' a senior NTA official said.

The NEET dress code does not permit any such activity as alleged by the parent of the candidate.

The code provides for ensuring sanctity and fairness of exam while observing sensitivity towards gender, culture and religion during frisking of candidates, the official added.

Meanwhile, Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu on Tuesday shot off a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking strong action against the agency which allegedly forced girl students to remove their undergarments before entering the NEET exam centre in Kollam district.

In her letter to the Union minister, 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 on Sunday.

Bindu said an agency that has been entrusted with the conduct of the examination allegedly forced the girl participants to strip before entering the test centre for reasons known only to themselves.

'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 and strongly recommended action against the agency to prevent future occurrences of a similar nature and sought the Union minister's intervention in the matter.

'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 letter added.