Invigilator kept staring at her chest, made her awkward: Sister of NEET candidate

Palakkad: A woman student, who had to remove her innerwear to appear for NEET at Palakkad on May 6, has filed a police complaint alleging that an external observer had stared at her 'inappropriately.'

Based on her complaint, a case was registered under IPC section 509 (eveteasing by word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and investigations have begun, police said.

The student, who appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) at the Lion's school at Koppa, had to remove her brassieres along with some other girls as it contained metal hook before writing the test.

According to the complainant, she was not comfortable writing the examination as a male external observer kept staring at her 'inappropriately.'

"The invigilator came and stood before her several times. He did not look at her face but at her chest. She tried to cover herself with the question paper," her sister told television channels.

"My sister was mentally tensed. The invigilator came near her two to three times. She found it difficult to write the exam properly, she was uncomfortable," she added.

Police said they have begun investigations and are trying to talk to students who had also appeared for the test in the same school.

"We are trying to speak to more witnesses who appeared for the test in the school. We are trying to get the list of other students who wrote the test in this school," the sources said.

Meanwhile, the CBSE's Regional officer at Palakkad, Tarun Kumar, told news agency PTI that they had not received any complaint on the matter so far.

On the police complaint, he said, "We are enquiring and a report is expected by next week."

In 2017, a controversy had erupted after a woman student from Kannur complained that she was forced to remove her inner wear to write the test.

Over one lakh students had appeared for the test from Kerala this year.