NEET frisking case: Five women arrested

Police at the NEET centre in Kollam, following protests by students. Photo: Manorama Online.

Five women were arrested on Tuesday evening in connection with frisking at the NEET examination hall in Kollam. 

Three among the arrested - Geethu, Jyotsna and Beena -  are the employees of a security agency and the others - S Mariamma and K Mariamma, are the cleaning staff of the institution. 

The Kerala police team probing the case had taken them into custody earlier.

Several women students had complained that they were forced to remove their inner-wear before entering the exam hall as the women engaged in frisking did not allow them to wear clothes with metal hooks.

The police had received about five complaints about the incident.

The police examined the CCTV footage from Marthomas Institute of Information and Technology, Ayur, where the incident took place. From the visuals, they found that four women were engaged in frisking the female candidates.

A private agency was engaged to do the pre-exam frisking. The agency had assigned four men and four women to do the job.

The central government had ordered a probe into the incident. The issue came to light on Monday when the father of a 17-year-old girl complained to the police about the exam. He told the media that his daughter, who was sitting for her first-ever NEET exam, was yet to come out of the traumatic experience wherein she had to sit for the over 3-hour-long exam without a brassiere.

The father had told media that his daughter was dressed as per the dress code mentioned in the NEET bulletin which did not say anything about inner-wear.

According to him, several other girls who appeared for the examination at the centre also had to face similar harassment.

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday ordered an immediate probe into the incident which grabbed national attention on Monday after a girl's father lodged a complaint with the police.

Pradhan has sought a report from the additional secretary, education, in Kerala.

The minister intervened in the matter even as two MPs from the state submitted a notice to raise the issue as an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha. Congress MPs Hibi Eden and K Muraleedharan have given the notice.

Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu has shot off a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, seeking strong against the agency, which allegedly forced girl students to remove their inner garments.

 

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