The alleged incident where a large section of female students were asked to remove their bras before taking National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2022 has left several students in a state of mental trauma. The pot has been stirring ever since the exam took place on Sunday, July 17. From allegations to counter allegations and now finally arrest of five women in this mattar. Here is what has happened so far in the case.
Exam Day: The exam began at 2 pm on July 17 but reporting began earlier around 12:30 pm. While frisking for the exam, female students in Kerala were in for a shock as they were asked to remove their bras and sit for the exam along with their male counterparts in the same room.
About 100 female students were humiliated when they were asked to remove their bras at the metal detection stage at an exam centre in Kollam. This happened as the hooks in the innerwear were detected as mental while chekcing, alleged students. Although the dress code states the NEET aspirants are not allowed to wear any metallic object or accessories inside the exam hall, it does not talk about undergarments such as bras which can include metallic hooks and underwiring.
Students and parents file complaints: A complaint was filed with the Kottarakka Deputy Superintendent of police. The parents of a 17-year-old girl had filed a complaint. Police registered a case under 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 female students alleged they were asked to remove their bras and not only did it create problems during the exam, while returning home, they had either cover themselves with stoles or dupattas. Several other girl students made similar allegations, though they did not separately file police complaints. According to the students, their undergarments were found dumped together in cartons after the examination.
“While taking the exam, we were continuously covering ourselves up with hair… What was even more concerning is that the official there instructed the girls to carry the innerwear in their hands while returning and not wear it,” a female aspirant told News18.com.
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NTA denies incident: An NTA senior official said that it had received no such complaints and had sought an immediate report after hearing the same via media. “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,” the official said.
The exam centre superintendent, the independent observer and the Kollam coordinator claimed they “did not find any such incident happening in the centre.” An observer at the Ayur centre where the incident allegedly took place said that the centre superintendent told him that they had seen a metal button on the shoulder of a girl, however, the superintendent later called it ‘fictitious’ and said he had not “directly observed anything like stripping of undergarments as alleged in the complaint.”
“I was vigilant in the conduct of all procedures and in my knowledge no bad incident has taken place in the centre on the day of the exam. I think the complaint is fictional and with bad intentions,” the superintendent said in his letter.
Protests and exam centre vandalisation: After NTA staff members questioned the intentions of parents, protests had begun on July 18. The protests have been held in Kerala’s southern region of Kollam wherein a section of agitators, who took out protest marches, vandalised the education institution at Ayur. Student activists allegedly entered the college premises breaking the police cordon, leading to vandalism while some suffered injuries in police action
Five women arrested: The Kerala police arrested five women in the bra removing row. Out of the five, three worked for an agency hired by the NTA, and two worked for the private educational institution at the Ayur exam centre in Kollam.
NTA Committee report in 4 weeks: The NTA has found a fact-finding committee to ascertain the facts. It consists of four members — Dr Sadhana Parashar, senior director at NTA, Shylaja OR, principal of Saraswathi Vidyalaya Arappura Vattiyorkavy in Thiruvanthapuram, and Suchitra Shyjinth from Pragati Academy in Ernakulam.
The committee will have to submit a report to the Education Ministry. They will visit the exam centre where the incident took place and “verify the facts of the matter after talking to all concerned persons,” NTA said. The agency added that they will “see whether the security/frisking protocols of NTA as detailed in “chapter 9: barred items and dress code” of information bulletin, as well as “Chapter 3: Para 3.13 of NTA NEET(UG)-2022 guidelines for city coordinators, centre superintendents, observers and invigilators were followed.” They need to report within 4 weeks.
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