GUWAHATI: The Assam police is probing the charge of a female candidate that she was “inappropriately” frisked by a lady constable ahead of Sunday’s Assam Direct Recruitment Examination (ADRE) held across the state.
The police launched the probe based on a direction it received from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He also spoke to Director General of Police GP Singh.
Sarma said he had instructed Singh to investigate the girl student’s charge that a lady constable “searched her private parts before she entered the examination hall”.
“For me, the dignity and respect of our mothers and sisters are of utmost importance and non-negotiable. The DGP also informed me of another incident in North Lakhimpur, where cheating material was recovered from the inner garment of a girl student on the same day,” the Assam CM said.
“We have two crucial tasks before us – conduct the ADRE exam with the highest level of integrity and transparency. We owe this to the entire younger generation of ours, and it cannot be compromised under any circumstances,” he said.
Stressing that it is imperative to uphold the decency and dignity of female candidates at all times, Sarma said a proper standard operating procedure (SOP) should be developed, taking into account the relevant judgments of courts and guidelines from the Women’s Commission regarding the conduct of searches involving women.
Following his direction, the DGP said Range DIG, who herself is a woman, proceeded to the place of occurrence to conduct a probe.
“We would work with examination-conducting authority, Recruitment Commission and Government to come up with SOP,” he posted on X.
The incident came to light after the female candidate had taken to social media and narrated her experience. She alleged some other female candidates had a similar experience. Her comments sparked an outrage among people.