THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after some female students appearing for the NEET were asked to remove their innerwear before entering the examination hall, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. KSHRC registered a suo motu case and sought report from the regional CBSE director.
P Mohana Das, KSHRC’s acting chairperson, said the action, held ostensibly as an invigilation procedure, was a violation of human rights.
He sent a letter to the National Human Rights Commission seeking action against the examination officers concerned.
The district police chief has been asked to submit a separate report and the Registrar of the Kerala University has been given three weeks’ time to give an explanation. KSHRC said many incidents of human rights violation were reported from several parts of the state during the NEET.
“Many parents were frantically running around the exam hall to find suitable clothes for their daughters. Some students had to cut the sleeves of their salwar kameez while some had to remove their shoes. Exploiting the situation, there was even a sale of T-shirts outside some exam centres.
In Kannur, officers asked a female student to remove her innerwear because there was a beep when she crossed the metal detector. Some other girls were not allowed entry because they were wearing black pants,” said Das.
He said CBSE informed students of these restrictions at the eleventh hour.
Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights also registered a suo motu case. It directed the CBSE headquarters in Delhi and the regional office in Thiruvananthapuram to submit a report in 10 days.